Strategy & Conquest
by SailorSilvanesti
Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts goes ill, and so, an unlikely messenger is sent for help... but is there something more? Demi-gods abound, battle stirs their veins... and yet, the puns still fly. Hades is a Jerk. What more can be said? Please Read & Review. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or any of the associated characters... I did make a handful of background names up. GET A TISSUE.**

**So, I asked a few months ago for a Crossover Prompt... and recieved a few thousand, I have finally gotten around to almost finishing this one.**

**~Prompt: **Draco Malfoy/Annabeth Chase (Daughter of Athena) [PERCY JACKSON]. "Watermelon" Love Relationship. 'Swimming, Picnic'.

**ENJOY!  
**

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**Strategy & Conquest**

**~)0(~**

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Her eyes followed every skittish movement of her prey.

The target of her sudden curiosity and desire was timid, scared, and very obviously not in his element as he crashed through the woodlands… Not unlike a certain Son of Poseidon had been in his first Game of Capture the Flag… but this was different. Even from where she perched in a tree, the sensation of power emanated from the boy… no, teen, for he was her age also…

There came a cry, part-surprise, part-pain and a great rending cracking noise… the blonde teen had fallen through the old log the Campers of Half-Blood used for a bridge where the water was too deep, as he had tried to cross the stream without getting his…_black bathrobe_?... wet.

Splinters and shards of old tree trunk flew in all directions as the otherworldly teen fell through the air in slow-motion, a disoriented expression on his face…like he couldn't understand where he was, or what was happening…

Piercing blue eyes roved around and seemed to lock onto hers, though they were unfocused, and Annabeth gasped in his stead as the teen hit the water and disappeared. Without thought for herself, she leapt forwards, giving away her position to those of the Blue Team and yet not caring as she screamed, "Percy, help me!"

There was no hesitation in the manner Percy Jackson tossed aside his sword and turned, running parallel to her, the pair both dived into the water despite the dragging weight of their individual breastplates… Training had conditioned their muscles to perfection; there was little resistance from Annabeth when Percy used his powers to propel them forwards through the green-tinged water…though her heart was acting strangely, beating a little too fast, the pattern like pounding feet.

She frowned, but snaked out her hand to grab hold of the dark fabric that slowly undulated before them, like evil kelp… the Daughter of Athena only just managed not to snort, giggle or laugh, as she would inevitably drown. With the barest minimum of feeling about, she managed to grasp the blonde's wrist, Percy having hold of the other arm and they both made for the surface.

~)0(~

It was amazing just how swiftly the gift of logic could be tossed aside in an emergency…

From the second they hauled the stranger onto the pebbled shoreline, and she had yelled at a nearby camper –Red Team, Blue Team, who cared anymore?- to run to Camp and find Chiron, for the boy was not breathing… her mind had drawn a blank on what to do.

Luckily, though, Percy had not yet lost his wits and was concentrating hard…

Small trickles of water seeped from the boy's robes and even more seemed to cascade from the pale lips, he must have swallowed half the river considering the amount puddling beneath his head… and then, he spluttered and flailed. Almost catching Percy across the right side of the face…that is, if she hadn't caught the cold, semi-dry wrist at the right instant.

"Hey…" she tried softly, "Hey, can you hear me? You're alright, I'm Annabeth Chase, no _stop fighting_ me… you're safe, I _promise_." She said, rubbing the hand she held, like you would an ill child, trying to calm him until the pounding hoofbeats she could hear in the distance began to grow in volume.

Confused blue eyes shone through under the heavy lids, like…_like the eyes of a Dreamer_… His pale lips parted to emit a soft rasp that sounded like a strangled word, so Annabeth leant in closer, straining to hear his whispered, "_Dr-Draco Malfoy…_" before the eyes rolled back in his head and the lids once again closed.

"Well, that doesn't give us a lot of information, does it?" Percy said, looking down in confusion, then eyes snapping straight up to the newly-arrived Camp Trainer, the centaur Chiron. He looked down at the boy- uh, Draco, "What happened?" he demanded, a forehoof striking the ground decisively in his best '_Tell me or I'll Trample You_' motion. Surprisingly, he was rather good at both non-verbal communication, and carrying out his threats… a frightening combination.

Annabeth's mouth opened to speak and he turned to her, but Percy broke in, "Said his name was _Dragon-Mousetoad_ or something, we fished him out of the river… I managed to get the water out of his lungs, but Annabeth seems to think it's something more than that…"

There was a loud 'CLONK' as Chiron again drew attention to himself with the stamping of a hoof, "Enough, you two pick him up and give him to me, Percy, go get changed, Annabeth come with me… I have a feeling you can shed more light on this situation…" The pair scrambled to do as he said.

Within that pause, the centaur looked down to the blonde boy in his arms and hummed in his throat, thinking, "And so we find another of you in our woods… what reasoning be it this time?"

~)0(~

Voices.

One soft, another gruff coming clearly to him, and all the rest in the background were like chattering squirrels, or whatever those damnable little fluffy and adorable creatures were that those Weasley Twins kept sneaking into the castle for their own amusement. The soft voice was female, and paused as he took a sharp intake of breath…

"Oh, Chiron, he's awake! Draco, _Draco_ can you hear me? It's me, Annabeth, I pulled you from the Lake!" it said, as a third previously unheard voice interjected with a prideful, "Hey! I helped too!" which was shushed.

He opened his eyes to find the light of day too confronting, and shut them hastily again, hadn't it been dark before? No …no that wasn't right, where was he? What was going on? He thrashed as hands touched him, eyes flaring open in instinctive fear… "_Get away from me_!" he yelled, scooting backwards up the bed-arrangement he had been lying on… it looked more like a glorified stretcher, anyway.

His pounding heartbeat lessened slightly, and he fought the urge to sneer as he took in the sight of a centaur –albeit a _very big one_ with an expression that could have given Professor Snape's disappointed frown a run for its money- and a pair of teenagers crowding around him.

The girl… her hair reminded him of Granger's, and the Boy's whole appearance –well with the exception of the armoured chest plate and lack of those dorky black-rimmed glasses- reminded him of Potter… things began to piece themselves together in his memory, like they were mismatched rags being sewn together to make a quilt.

Hogwarts… Battle… Fire… Potter and his friends… Screaming, so much Screaming and-… All the bodies… So many staring eyes!

He let out an undignified whimper and clutched at his temples as the images brought pain and remembrance, the agony of indecision, knowing they were doomed… The pounding of his heart as he had turned upon his own family to protect the younger students… Why? Because he'd seen the fear in their eyes as they had died, unprotected, at his fellow Death-Eater's hands…

And Draco had made a choice. He was no one's puppet…

~)0(~

"Well young man, why have you ventured into this world…so far from your own?" came the officious voice of Chiron, startling both Percy and Annabeth out of their skins, for both had been caught staring at the boy crouched at the far end of the Infirmary bed, clutching his temples just below the blonde hair and moaning softly. Like he could hardly withstand whatever he saw behind those haunted blue eyes…

"Other… _world_?" Percy repeated slowly, an eyebrow raised incredulously… his words seeming to spark interest in this Draco character… as he unfurled to look directly at the Centaur, eyes flickering between the two campers as well.

"I…I don't remember a lot, this was… planned?" he seemed to be trying to convince himself of that, "There was some form of parchment, Professor McGonagall found it in the Sorting Hat just after uh, Voldemort-…" for some reason the words brought a look of sadness, "…just after he killed Professor Dumbledore. It said that if we ever were in grave need, to intone the incantation and help would come… and I don't know how I got here."

"Well young man, you've certainly had quite a trip… Professor Dumbledore is dead? How very unfortunate, I very much liked that man, quite an interesting person… How did he die, exactly? And am I to understand that Hogwarts has fallen for you to seek our aid?" Chiron asked, looking quite aggrieved; Dumbledore had been a close friend after…well, that last incident.

Annabeth was sharing the same confused expression as Percy, both frowning and lost in this sea of unfamiliar names and whatever this "Hogwarts" was…

The blonde's mouth opened and shut several times in quick succession, like he couldn't bring himself to say what had happened… until finally in a timid voice, he whispered hoarsely, "I failed to kill him… so Professor Snape did it for me…" At those words, Chiron reared angrily, "DeathEater! I should have known, but so young…Voldemort is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel if he sends mere children into battle!" Anger soothed quickly to concern as the boy drew up the blanket as if it would protect him, shaking… there was obviously more to this story…

"P-Please don't be angry with me… I had no choice… my family is-… My Family are Purebloods, forced to serve Voldemort… Well, my father and Aunt do it willingly, but I hated it. And I failed. I didn't… _couldn't_ kill Dumbledore… so _He _–Lord Voldemort- was going to kill me instead; but then, Snape saved my worthless life by killing the Headmaster in my stead, and taking the punishment for disobeying the Dark Lord. Voldemort has taken Hogwarts, so many students are being hunted down and captured, Muggleborns are tortured, Half-bloods are no longer allowed to attend…

Only the Purebloods, or those who can prove there was a pureblood witch or wizard in their family before them. If they haven't got one, the Ministry -lead by that _bitch_ Umbridge-, charges them with stealing a wand and sends them to Azkaban." Draco took a shaking breath. "And then… Harry Potter and his friends re-appeared, and all the students that were old enough or brave enough –_mostly Gryffindors, handful of Hufflepuffs, and a few dozen Ravenclaws; there aren't many non-Slytherin students left_- formed into a loose sort of army….and then Voldemort attacked, like he'd been waiting for the whole thing to start. Most of Slytherin was fighting for the Death Eaters, but a few –like me- couldn't take it anymore…and changed sides… I know a spell hit me… but the next thing I remember was a forest and water."

He was clearly exhausted with the effort of relaying such an important, emotional piece of news… and Chiron patted his shoulder gently, "Rest, Draco, you have done well to bring us this message, we will, of course, send aid. I shall rally the Campers to- oh, he's already asleep." Turning to go and do just that, the Centaur found his way blocked by Percy and Annabeth, arms folded across their chestplates in a manner that meant business, and perplexed but determined expressions on their faces.

"Explain…" said Percy.

"…Now." Finished Annabeth.

Chiron sighed, "What is it you wish to know…?"

~)0(~

Archers loosed shots in perfect arches, all thudding into the targets with perfect precision; well, they should, Artemis had taken a rare trip to the Camp with her Archers to see how the Campers fared at the skill of Hunting… Okay, let's be honest, she'd bet her twin brother –Apollo- that she could find herself two new archers for her Hunt, by the end of the day. BUT, they had to be able to shoot the wings off of a fly…at forty yards.

Chiron ducked as the next row of girls loosed their bows, the lowest grazing his head by a fraction, "Aim higher, ladies, thank you. As I was saying, Hogwarts is a School of Wi-…" he began, but Percy cut him off, "Wait… if he's not half-god, how the heck did he get in here? To the Camp?"

Refraining from rolling his eyes as it would be undignified, "Percy, if you would just let me finish my explanation, it would be exceptionally clear to you… Now, as I have tried to say four times already, Hogwarts is a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… Mr Malfoy would be a good example of a Wizard in his Seventh and Final Year at the School, we do not know why… but it is believed that an unnamed God or Goddess from this world put magic into his world a long time ago. It is closely mirrored to our own, just a few decades in the past… but theirs is a world divided, those with magic must hide it from everyday people or 'Muggles', as it has been for centuries. There are many things that reside in that world that we in ours, have never seen… and yet the same can be said of ours, I doubt they have ever dealt with a Minotaur." He let out a low chuckle. "Ah, but this tenuous connection between our world and theirs allows for any magical person, especially a student of the same age as the Campers, to enter the gates of Camp Half-Blood. Technically, they seem to have some form of God Blood in their veins… Magic… I will not pretend to understand it, it simply is."

Annabeth nodded, ducking a stray arrow as someone cried, "_Sorry_!"

"So…how do you know all this? It seems like you know a lot more than you're telling, Chiron…" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, to which he barked out laughter, "Ah, just like your mother, such a sharp mind! But you are correct, for you see, this is neither the first…nor I wager, the last… Student of Hogwarts to venture to the Camp… Let me tell you of the time…"

His voice trailed away from earshot as the trio wandered further away from the rest of the Camp, down towards the Lake, so they may talk undisturbed by the new Capture the Flag game that was raging through the woods at that time…

~)0(~

Bolting upright with a gasp, blue eyes wide with surprise, Draco reeled for a second… It took slightly longer than that for the world to fall back into place, to realise where he was, and when it did… he took a double take. Some half man, half-goat creature stood by his bed, offering a… cup of something _glowing_…

Oh no, Granger had once gotten him with a Shimmering Elixir during Potions when he was forcibly paired with her… Potter had not stopped making 'sparkling blood-sucker' jokes for weeks, until it wore off…

He glared at the…goat-man with suspicion.

Said goat-man sighed, "Okay, here we go," he took a deep breath and let fire, "My name's Grover, Protector First Class. I'm a Satyr, _not_ a Goat-man. You're in Camp Half-Blood, no this _isn't_ a Shimmering Elixir –so don't you go worrying about that, it's actually liquid Ambrosia and yes, Chiron –_the big horsey dude_- said you can drink it because you and all the other magic-y people have some strange form of God-something-or-other in your veins so it won't kill you." He panted for a moment after finishing.

Draco blinked, reaching out and taking the cup… "Thanks…?" he said, an inflection of confusion in his tone, the goat-man, uh, Satyr, flashed him a double thumbs up and walked –trotted?- off. This place was too weird…

He took a sip and felt warmth flooding through him, mind clearing instantly… and he had never felt magic like this before… instinctively, he groped into a pocket of his- wait, where the hell were his robes?

"Grover!" he called, it echoed in the semi-silent Infirmary, and the Satyr was again at the foot of his bed. "What's up, dude? Oh, bet you're wondering about the pyjamas… don't shoot me, but the only spare pair we could find in camp was a set from one of the younger campers, so yes…they are a bit small and double yes, there's Hello Kitty on it. She was kind enough to lend you that, so be grateful… We're having some new ones bought for you, but they won't get here till tonight and-…"

It took all of two seconds to process that information, stare down in horror and realised that yes, indeed, his PINK pyjamas were indeed infested with Hello Kitty faces; his father would most definitely NOT be hearing about this…

Then shook his head, "Give her my thanks, but I really need to know, where are my robes? There was something in them of great importance…" Now it was Grover's turn to blink, "Oh, you mean this stick thing? Sure… here you go… not sure WHY you'd want it, but I stopped one of the Aphrodite Campers from tossing it because nature was '_not IN right now'_, heh, those girls and fashion…"

Draco just about rocketed out of bed, snatching his wand back rather rudely out of desperate need to make sure it was real, and holding it firmly with both hands, "Oh thank- I mean, I am glad it's safe… you have no idea what would happen if it was broken or lost… I'd never get home."

"Your little magic stick that gives you power, I take it…?" the Satyr said, sitting down on the bed, tilting his head, Draco responded, "You…could say that… it's a Wand, all magical beings –witches and wizards- are born with magic in them… but the wand helps you focus the power. Like… I don't know, like a lightning rod… I suppose, helps you channel it into whatever you want… Some of the more powerful wizards out there could do magic without their wands, like…Professor Dumbledore, but not many others."

"So…what stops you from just getting another one if something happens to your wand?" asked the clearly confused satyr. Draco must have looked absolutely horrified at the notion, because Grover scooted backwards so fast he nearly fell off the bed, "Get ANOTHER one? Are you Mad?" he took a calming breath, "At age eleven, you get your wand, and I don't mean you go and get one off the shelf at some Muggle store, I mean, you go to Ollivander's in Diagon Alle- _Nevermind_, it's in my world. There are hundreds of wands there, all lengths, all woods, different cores, no two the exact same… You have to try a few, usually, before one chooses you…"

There was a pause.

"How do you know…if it chooses you?" Grover prodded.

"Oh, you know, if you stop exploding things… usually a spray of sparks comes out the end when you wave it… but as I was saying, it chooses you, your one wand. Sure, there are a few occasions where you are lucky to find another if yours breaks… but it's never quite the same, and I could never find one here if-…" he paused and listened intently, before his eyes went wide. "They didn't…" he groaned, "They did… I don't suppose you'd have my robes handy…?"

Grover shook his head apologetically.

"Ah well, then I shall have to go and surprise them…" and he slid out of bed, striding out the door for all to see… Grover trotting along behind with an air of excited anticipation and amusement.

~)0(~

Annabeth started as the cry came once again, "DR_AAAAAAA_CO! Where Are you?" Which was quickly followed by, "Show yourself you Slimy G_IIIIIIIII_T! DRACO!" and then a female voice arguing with the owners of both those voices.

Crunching twigs heralded the arrival of others, someone was gasping heavily, the other two obviously encouraging them onwards… Her eyes flickered to Percy, then Chiron, both of whom nodded in silent agreement to her unasked question; and the three of them took off to go and see who or indeed what was making that dreadful racquet.

~)0(~

Striding through the strange Camp was an interesting experience, the whole place was a cross between a Muggle Summer Camp, and an Army Base, teenagers of all ages wearing armour and generally trying to beat each other's brains out with swords… and- was that giant spikey thing a mace? Oh, he did NOT envy that girl's duelling partner…

"Nice Pyjamas…" some boy standing behind a forge sniggered. He was about to open his mouth to retort, when a GORGEOUS little girl who looked like an angel smiled brightly and said, "Thanks! They're mine, just so you know…" her eyes ran up and down his body like an x-ray [making him feel rather uncomfortable, like he was naked and being judged], before smiling and saying, "I KNEW that would suit you!"

Then giggled, and skipped off to join her… oh my god there were MORE of those gorgeous creatures? He mentally slapped himself, there were different laws in America… they were most certainly not legal… but if he could get them to Australia or England…fair game…

He was just about to mentally smack himself again, when Grover did it for him, "Oh no, I see what you be thinking in that devious little mind of yours… Just, no. You do NOT want to get on Aphrodite's bad side… and messing with her daughters –or her son? You would die…. Or be forced to fall in love with something ridiculous, like your reflection… or an apple or something… Heh, I'm sure there's babes at your school, right?"

He did not get a chance to answer as, stumbling from the woods was a VERY dishevelled looking trio he knew only too well, the ginger limping out front took one look at him and cried out happily, "There you are you ruddy git! We've looked everywhere… then McGonagall told us where she'd sent you… not sure why she'd send YOU of all people…but-…"

"RON!" cried the other two, Hermione leaning heavily on Harry, like her ankle would not support her weight; Weasley tried to grab her other arm, but she shoved him away, "You can barely walk on your own, how do you think you can help me?" he looked quite hurt, but slunk away silently. Draco felt he should be pleased, but couldn't bring about any emotion other than a strange relief that they were here…

Striding over, he grabbed Hermione, and picked her up… a little part of his mind was prodding him and pointing out that –as strong as he was- this should be impossible, but another part kept flashing him images of that little golden goblet he had drunk earlier… He rationalised this vitality and cheerful mood must have something to do with that 'Ambrosia' stuff and just went with it.

Galloping noises heralded the arrival of the centaur, Chiron, with Percy and Annabeth close at his heels….uh, hooves. It was just then that Weasley and Potter noticed his outfit, "Uh…nice, hah, pyjamas Draco…" Harry giggled, obviously exhausted and past filtering his words, or even caring what he said. All three of them wore a layer of grime unparalleled except by maybe coal miners…bruises still shone through, cuts and scratches, Ron looked out of it, broken, maybe and limping; Potter's right arm was hanging limply to his side and Hermione could barely walk and was rather unfocused, eyes roving unseeingly about the group.

Out of nowhere the same cute voice yelled, "Thank you, I designed it!"

Harry and Ron turned to look and nearly lost their jaws to the ground when they saw the gaggle of Aphrodite's children standing several yards away, all watching, the youngest looking exceptionally pleased with herself. "By Merlin, they can't be real…" Harry whispered, "Oh, but they are!" said Grover, which made both unprepared boys jump.

"Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're alright, Malfoy… even if you are a bit of a git on occasion. And…thanks for saving Ginny from Yaxley…" Ron said, as Grover began his 'not a goat-man, but a Satyr' speech that had Hermione perk up and look on with interest. Draco blinked, "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, you could have said it with a little more enthusiasm on your face… I mean, who died?"

Draco knew he'd stepped too far as both Harry and Hermione winced.

Ron turned to him with blank eyes, no false mirth to be found any longer, "Fred. My brother… you know, one of the Twins… there was a fight… the curse was heading for George, but Fred threw himself in the way… George isn't talking, Lupin and Tonks are dead, so that Creevey kid, Colin was his name… the one with the camera… Mam won't stop crying. Oh, and she killed your aunt, by the way… you should have seen it…"

So, Aunt Bellatrix was dead, he shrugged not really feeling any remorse… she really was a crazy old witch who should have been 'taken care of' long ago…

"I'm sorry…" he said, and meant it, surprised at his remorse. "If I'd known I wouldn't have said that… did you destroy all the Horcruxes? Can we kill him yet…?" The Trio glanced at each other, "Not yet… there are still three we have to find… we know two of them, but the third… it's been lost in history for a long time. We think it's at Hogwarts."

Percy interjected, "That's a very fetching outfit Draco, any chance you can introduce us to your friends _before _they pass out?" At which point Malfoy started as he realised they were standing there watching on silently, and that he was absolutely correct, the others were deathly pale beneath the grime…

"Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her age… Harry Potter, Chosen One and my sometimes enemy, and Ron Weasley…no one special." At the offended glance he got, a mischievous smirk grew, "Or should I say, 'Weasley is our King'?"

"If I could muster the energy to go for my wand, Draco, I would…" Ron snapped back, seemingly more amused than angry. To which the Slytherin prince muttered, "Promises, Promises… Weasley." Causing the redhead to splutter something awful and turn a light crimson… He smirked, "I kid, of course, he's the best Keeper Gryffindor has ever had since Oliver Wood…"

"Draco, either propose or find us somewhere to crawl into and die, if you please?" Harry sighed, a hint of mischief in his tone, "We had to come through to see if you were still whole… we saw you take at least half a dozen Stunning Spells to the chest, just before you went through the portal… McGonagall wanted to make sure you weren't dead. Given that you probably should be… must be this world… Well she shoved us through when the battle turned against us…"

"Probably. Well I'm not dead… we'll have a party for it later in the Slytherin Common Room…" he saw their sceptical glances and smiled, "What could possibly piss off Voldemort more than knowing his secret Common Rooms had been 'invaded' so brazenly… not unlike that time in First Year… did you really think I was that stupid? Your Polyjuice Potion wasn't strong enough to last the full hour… now if we could just find the Hufflepuff Common Room, we'd know everything…"

Hermione mumbled something about "Hogwarts: A History" before gasping and becoming dead weight, at which point Chiron motioned for Grover to take her from Draco… "Oh yes, Potter, Weasley, this is Percy Jackson and that's Annabeth Chase, their Demi-Gods or something, sorry I was kind of half out of it when you explained it all."

Ron mumbled something along the lines of, "I know what you mean…" and his legs collapsed out from under him, the redhead landing awkwardly on trembling hands and shaking knees; Potter saved gravity the trouble, and sat down. "Night!" he cried in Farewell, and toppled over backwards, out of it.

Unsure whom to help, Draco stood there, but Annabeth –always calm in a crisis he noticed…- casually strode over and methodically checked that Harry was indeed still among the living… She motioned Percy over, and between the two of them they lifted him up, carrying back to where the Apollo Campers were, given that several were currently running over with a stretcher.

Ron forced himself to his feet, swayed and fell onto Draco, who had moved over in this strange, new compulsion to help he felt almost everytime he saw someone in danger… so this was what being Good, -a Hero-, felt like?

He… could get used to it.

"I can make it, Malfoy… I don't need your help, I can do this…" he breathed harshly against Draco's ear… "Sure, you and what legs, Weasley? You don't have to prove anything here… let me help you…tell me, are ALL you Weasleys so ridiculously Stubborn when it comes to admitting you're hurt? If so, how exactly have you survived so long with those _Twi_- I mean, _oh look , a double rainbow_!"

Ron frowned and looked up, "Whe- Ah!" and fell over, stunned. Draco tried to tell himself it was for his own good… and quietly pocketed his wand, hoping no one saw that, might ruin his 'Hero' image…

~)0(~

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_**TBC...**_

_**Chapter 2 uploading shortly...**_

_**Please REVIEW.**_

_**~*SailorSilvanesti/Phoenix Fire*~**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or any of the associated characters, etc.**

**So, a heck of a response from everyone... and that was only the beginning...**

**Chapter 2, ENJOY.**

* * *

**~*Chapter 2*~**

**~)0(~**

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There was a pause.

"Obviously," called Clarisse, Daughter of Ares, to the assembled, "We need to get these woods fumigated, we seem to be infested with otherworldly magic users…" Her voice was gruff, but it was all in good-natured fun…

The other Campers laughed heartily, one of the Hermes Campers somehow started an all-out war using a slingshot and some left over mash potato… so the impromptu campfire meeting was adjourned momentarily until the whole thing came under control again…

"Campers!" cried Chiron, stilling all activity. "Campers…" he began again, "the time has come to put your training into effect… be aware, the foe we face has powers beyond mortal comprehension… magic; and although we will have many magic users on our side also, you must be vigilant, for it only takes one spell to kill you. But we are not there to take on such adversaries for the sake of it… Children like yourselves are dying, terrified and alone at the hands of an army of wildmen, dark magic users and a crazed creature known as Voldemort… not to mention all the giants, werewolves and other nightmarish creatures he has conjured. Stay away from the Dementors… In any case, ready yourselves for war, Campers. We leave as soon as our guests are well!"

A loud cry went up, swords, spears and maces banging against shields, voices loud in excitement…

Chiron sighed, if only they knew the price of war… and then he wondered how he was going to put "Taking your Child to another Dimension, to fight against evil beings and creatures of a Magical Nature" on a permission slip…

…Maybe he didn't have to ask their MORTAL Parents…

A plan formed.

~)0(~

"YOU DID WHAT?" screamed Percy's mother, for all intents and purposes yelling at the storm-churned ocean as winds whipped her hair about madly; her face was contorted in anger, and she knew without doubt she was not the only mortal having a good go at their immortal partners right this instant.

With a rush and gurgle of water, Poseidon appeared in Human Form just to the left, casually out of swinging range of her fist, she noted. "Now please be reasonable, Sally… Chiron approached us all in Olympus and asked our permission, it is not exactly as if Percy will be going on his own, all the Campers at Half-Blood will be fighting this battle. Not to mention, Percy himself made a personal plea… The children of another world were being slaughtered and the Demi-Gods wanted to help, like they were trained to do, would you deny them this? They are Heroes born, this is what they are…this is what they DO."

She hit the hard rock on her knees, head bowed as sea-spray flicked cold droplets on her body and soaked through the top she wore… "_But what if he doesn't come back to me…?_" she whispered hoarsely, a mother's anguish and fear in her tone…

In seconds, the God of the Seas was on his knees before her, arms holding her close as she softly began to cry… and he whispered, "He will return…because he is as much your son as he is mine…"

She let out a shrill laugh through her silvery tears, "Oh, I'm not sure whether to hug you for that profound statement… or stab you with your own trident for how corny it was…" and Poseidon laughed, "Well, one would hope for the former, but if it be the latter, we'd have to go to my temple to discuss such a thing… in DEPTH…"

The bad pun almost destroyed the moment, given that his temple and palace were underwater… but it initiated a strong warmth that wreathed around the pair in that moment, the Sea God's lips brushed her forehead before planting a tender, comforting kiss and holding her close, "He'll come back to us, I promise… even if I have to drown this 'Voldemort' myself…"

Laughter echoed in time with the rumbling of the stormy sea…

"If you don't, _I will_!"

~)0(~

"You either get that Bloody thing out of my face or I'll hit you with it!" came an irritable voice from the other end of the room, Draco turned over in his Infirmary cot, somewhat amused and glared down the long row… over the sleeping forms of Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger, to where Weasley was thrashing… "Not the rollerskates!"

His eyes were wide open, but it was like he wasn't looking at the reality before him, but rather something else entirely, such a thought was confirmed when the painful scream of, "FRED!" rang out in the air…

Leaping from his own bed, still in those ADORABLE Hello Kitty pyjamas, Draco cursed the strange lack of Attendants in the _all-but-deserted-except-for-them_ Infirmary building, and dashed down the three beds to shake at the redhead's shoulders. He was seriously starting to consider slapping Weasley, when said Gryffindor Keeper jerked, gasped and blinked the film of unrecognition from his eyes…

"Wha- Draco? What the- but I thought we were… back at Hogwarts… _He was right there_…" the voice trailed off, Draco having to force himself not to give into curiosity and look in the direction Ron's trembling hand was pointing. Confusion set in, and there was a temptation for the Slytherin to go shake Potter or Granger awake for this, because he was damned if he knew what the correct procedure was for comforting someone who's brother had been murdered by his own mad Aunt…

But that would be cruel, both were out to it at the moment, exhausted beyond belief and resting quietly… Harry's arm had been found dislocated and was then re-set while he slept, Hermione's ankle was bound tight, for it was sprained… all cuts and bruises had been washed as thoroughly as the trio themselves. All three sporting… unique outfits not unlike his own…

It seemed the Aphrodite Cabin had been busy sewing… at least the outfits were different colours, and he couldn't help but feel jealous that Harry got to wear the ones with the fire trucks on it… but no matter, Ron had a death-grip on his arm. Suppressing the urge to wince or bat him off, Draco awkwardly patted him on the back… "Uh, I'm sorry?"

"He was _right there_, I was so close I should have pushed them BOTH out of the way…it should have been me." He stated it as a stone cold fact, which sent a terrifying chill down Draco's spine to hear it aloud, "You were right, you know, I was the extra Weasley… There was _rebellious_ Bill, and Charlie the _explorer-slash-daredevil_, the Twins…_who had a class of their own_, and Ginny _-who mam ADORES, she always did want a girl_… and then… me. I can't stop thinking I should have pushed them both out of the way… maybe then mam would stop crying... it wouldn't be so sad."

Throwing all dignity out the window, Draco gave the world's most awkward, yet comforting hug… remembering guiltily that some of this was a little bit his fault… Okay, a LOT his fault, all that teasing, it must have been hell on earth for Ron; didn't stop him starting when a soft female voice said calmly, "I know it's hard to lose a friend, so I cannot imagine the pain of losing a family member… but you must remember this was not your fault, in battle things happen that you can't control. No matter how you tell yourself you should have done something, it will never come to be, so never feel sadness or shame… Grieve as you will, for that is best."

Annabeth appeared through the gloom, like an angel of Mercy…well, a kick-ass version of it, due to the sword and armour, but her intentions were gentle and merciful… Ron looked at her with a dark glare, before sighing and hanging his head, "I-I know you're right…but it feels wrong. It SHOULD have been ME, not Fred, not George, not even that little Creevy Kid… but I can't do anything about it now, it's in…the…past…"

A light came to those eyes that puzzled Annabeth, but made Draco leap forwards with a, "Don't you even THINK about it! Or I'll go back before you get there and kill you for going back to get yourself killed! Wait, hang on…" he stopped to think about the statement and confused himself.

"_Ron, if you so much as __glance__ at a Time-turner I will Hex you into next century_…" Hermione mumbled before sighing, turning over and going back to sleep; there was a deep echoing yawn that mangled a "_Me too_…" and Harry dropped in and out of the conversation in less than a second.

Draco kept a straight face for all of ten seconds before bursting into laughter, "Well, you have your answer then, now go back to bloody bed, I was having this nice dream about one of the new Slytherin Prefects… and you ruined it." Ron ducked his head, then shot up with a lecherous grin, "Which one the girl with the big –uh," his eyes flickered to Annabeth, "Hair-style? …or the boy_ with that massive package…" _Another glance,"…_because_ his father is a uh, Muggle Postman?"

For which he was gently whacked about the head….from both parties.

"Don't make me Stun you again, sleep this time!" Draco hissed playfully as Annabeth's expression took on a frown. Ron's eyes flew wide open, "What- you didn't… you did. Well, that explains the lack of a double rainbow… but you did give me an idea…"

"You touch a time-turner and _so help me Merlin,_ I will turn you into a llama!" retorted Malfoy, laughing with a serious expression on his face; flopping back on the bed, the Weasley wheezed for a moment, before shutting his eyes, and…in a mere moment, he was asleep…finally. The trio had been exhausted.

The Daughter of Athena sat down on the side of the redhead's bunk, cool gaze connecting with Draco's own before flickering down to look at Ron, a battle-calloused hand reaching out to stroke hair the colour of flame as she whispered, "_Every life has worth, whether you see it or not…you are more important than you know and mean so much to those you cannot yet guess at…_"

While she addressed those words to the sleeping Weasley, her eyes flickered back up at the last word, and somehow…inexplicably, Draco felt as if her words were directed –in part- at him, also. The message struck home deep in his heart…

But before he could voice his thoughts and feelings aloud… she had stood, pressed a hand to his cheek and left.

Alone in Darkness again, but not without hope…

~)0(~

"Maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I have a feeling something is wrong here… like we're missing something, and it's really important." Percy muttered, striding back and forth across the entrance of the Athena Cabin, Annabeth and her siblings watched him, eyes moving as the Son of Poseidon paced.

"It is only logical to feel that way, you never know what will happen in the future unless all possible outcomes can be weighed up against one another…" said a helpful boy of about twelve in the back of the Cabin, muffled mildly by his pillow. Percy frowned at the lump of Camper and sheet, indistinguishable from one another, and retorted, "True, but I feel like we're missing something, like how Chiron keeps hinting that this kind of thing has happened before… and it certainly feels like it has, given what he knows. This 'Hogwarts' sounds like a place just brimming with danger… I'm not suggesting it's a trap…just that something feels wrong here…"

A pillow was thrown at him, "It's four in the freaking MORNING, could you go and worry in your own cabin for a bit, Son of Poseidon? Some of us want to try and sleep, given all the work we have to do tomorrow to get ready for this silly little war of the magic-y people's!"

Acknowledging the point for what it was, Percy turned and jogged back to his own cabin where, after a few more tense moments of pacing, he simply collapsed into his bunk and started to snore… he didn't even feel it when a soft gust of sea air rose from seemingly nowhere and slipped his sheet snug about his sleeping body.

Nor when a wet, semi-tangible hand traced his cheek and whispered, "Be Safe…My son."

~)0(~

There was an unceremonious moment when, of all things, some sadistic Son of a Witch decided to blow a trumpet loudly and clearly at six in the morning, amidst the sounds of waking from amongst the entire camp, came the sound of grumbling and a potential death threat from the four sleepers in the Infirmary.

…and maybe one also from the Poseidon Cabin.

Bleary-eyed and full of malice he needed to work off in that morning's training session, Percy got up and shuffled with those of the Athena Cabin –who shared his expression of absolute utter _JOY_ (heavy on the sarcasm) of being alive on this morning and that Gods-awful wake-up call. Seriously, if he found that Trumpet-blower he would-

"You would what?" mumbled the boy beside him, from last night, the pillow-thrower… and Percy realised he'd been voicing his thoughts aloud… "Yeah, you were, and you're still doing it, so let your mind go blank until I've had my morning ambrosia… alright?"

Percy didn't bother to censor his next sentence, but the Athena Cabin boy somehow mustered the energy to run from him at great speed… "Huh, he's enthusiastic this morning!" he called to Annabeth…

Her expression was closer to a smirk, than not, as she returned, "You could say that… but seriously, if you go near him with the giant spikey mace… I will kill you." Percy just hoped she was kidding…

~)0(~

Stomping a cloven hoof in annoyance, Grover tried for the third time to get them all up and running… he prodded Draco, pulled the covers off Harry, contemplated giving Hermione a lick and well, prodded Ron, because he'd run out of ideas…

"C'mon guys, you HAVE to get UP, it's six in the A.M. and it's the big day, you're moving out…" he said brightly. Now THAT garnered a reaction, the blonde shooting up first with a, "What? You're throwing us out? But I thought you were going to help us!" Blue eyes wide with disbelief and shocked-horror, forcing the Satyr to backpedal as both Harry and Hermione started awake with the same kind of expressions…

Ron snored helpfully.

Grover backpedalled, "Wha- NO! Of course not! I just meant out of _here_ here! Congratulations, all of you are being moved out to the Hermes' Cabin, where all the new, unclaimed campers live while…well, _unclaimed_…" he rubbed at his horns sheepishly. One bleary eye opened on the redhead, "So we're just going to stay there the one night, right? We don't have to be 'claimed' or whatever for you to help us?"

The Protector First-Class stroked his chin, "Well… technically you don't have Godly parents, but you do have God's Blood, or magic or whatever…look, Chiron explained it to me once and it made my brain hurt, believe me…let's not go there! Basically, we get new campers, they go to the Hermes's Cabin cause old Hermes isn't picky and welcomes everyone… sometimes it happens immediately, other times it take time…sometimes campers can spend their whole time here unclaimed… but if a Camper IS claimed, it's usually after something extraordinary has happened. Depends who their godly parent is to what happens, like when my man, Percy, was claimed water EVERYWHERE and his symbol shone over his head… whereas if a child of Aphrodite is claimed, world turns pink, rose-petals EVERYWHERE, harps play, and Aphrodite's symbol shines over their head."

The Satyr Shrugged, "As I said, every God's a little different, but to be claimed is BIG… Percy was a surprise, because he's a child of one of the BIG THREE –who really weren't supposed to have kids anymore, Long story, trust me. Whoo, the dust-storm that his claiming kicked up was a scary ride, man!" He found all four students looking back at him sceptically, but moved out of the bed, three freezing to take stock of the outfits they wore…

After a pause, Hermione said, "Well, it could be worse, I suppose…though I've never seen myself as a green person, I prefer periwinkle blue… but the Bananas in Pyjamas were a nice touch…" her eyes danced with laughter as they passed over Harry's blue outfit, adorned with blaring red fire trucks, and onto Ron's lovely yellow pyjamas…covered in love hearts.

She damn near lost her composure… but held it back to retain an air of logic and dignity.

Ron glared down at the outfit, shrugged and just kind of went with it, the only person likely to make a joke was standing two feet to his right and covered in Hello Kitty symbols… so yeah, he wasn't going to freak out or anything about this…no matter how weird it was. They glanced about, searching for Robes and wands… which were not immediately visible… but hung carefully on a rack at the opposite end of the room, and Wands sat innocuously on stands beside each bed…

Each reached out for their wands first, but were stopped short when their hands grasped for the freshly-cleaned uniforms and robes. "Uh, guys? While you're here you're gonna have to adhere to the dress code… for your own safety…" Grover said, trying not to look too amused, "C'mon, the Hephaestus Campers stayed up a little late last night in the forge and made you some armour…weapons too, but I'm not sure any of you know how to handle a sword… nice of them though." He shrugged.

Harry was busy rotating his shoulder, it was still tender and pain flared if he jerked it at any point, Hermione sort of hobbled a little when she walked…but for the life of her, she couldn't remember the correct spell for bone regeneration or healing… Which annoyed her no end…she was going to have to give back her "Smartest Witch in the World" Mug…and she loved that thing.

What she wasn't aware of was that it was originally a joke from the Twins, but when she looked so ecstatic about it, they took the 'Dribbling Chalice' Hex off it… because they didn't particularily want to hurt her feelings. Namely because she actually _was_ the Smartest Witch in the entire World and would hunt the pair to the ends of it, just to hex them into oblivion for the prank…

Ron stood up, and promptly fell over, "What the Bloody Hell was that?" he yelled, pushing himself up on the side of his bed… legs finally stabilising, well, for the most part. There was an audible smack as the Satyr facepalmed, "Oh, I forgot, the Healers gave you something to numb your legs so they could stitch up the gashes on them, should wear off completely in a day or two… OR," he added, seeing the argument brewing in the redhead's face, "…OR, after we get you all something to eat, and most importantly, DRINK."

There was a tromping sound, like many feet in a loose sort of army march, and some large, muscular campers appeared, even the females were easily more built than any of the Wizards in the room… all carried armfuls of metal… The tallest of the four stepped forwards, towards Harry; mouth twitching as he strove to keep his expression neutral…

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! I'm Charles Beckendorf, Leader of the Hephaestus Cabin… heard you turned up pretty battered, well, you'll end up that way again if you stay here unprotected… so we made the four of you some armour, and –through a bit of scrounging about the cabins- we grabbed you some clothes to go under them… that is," and his voice became full of mirth, "unless you _would prefer to wear those outfits _under your armour?"

It was almost impossible not to like the muscular teen, and so they took it for the joke it was and laughed… "Right, let's get you into your new armour! It's a bit tricky the first few times until you get used to it, so that's why there's four of us, we're going to give you a hand today and probably tomorrow… on the provision you show us around Hogwarts after the battle, right?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, we took your measurements when you were out to it, so they should all fit perfectly, if not…" he raised a sledgehammer that was easily the biggest one Harry had ever seen in his life, "…we can always bang out the dents." He shrugged, before bursting into raucous laughter at the horror on the four teens' faces…

"I'm kidding, but seriously, it has to fit perfectly. So everyone stand still and the person with your armour will come to you, Harry, I've got yours. James over there has those for Draco, Melissa's got the armour for one Miss Hermione Granger… and Ron, you can put it on yourself…"

There was a pause, "I'm kidding!" he laughed seeing several murderous glares aimed at him… "Brandon's going to help you get it on and off, we're good at _getting it off_…" he paused again, deliberately throwing the pun out there for any reaction, "Because the clasps are easier to pull off than ram into those small clasps. What? What did you _dirty minded magic_ _users _think I was talking about…? Right, let's get you dressed, step this way Harry…"

~)0(~

Pushing against just about every surface they could find, the four of them tried their damndest to stay upright, despite the weight of Gauntlets, Chest/breastplates, Weird Leg guard things and the swords strapped to their waists.

"Mother of a Troll!" Ron yelled, falling into Draco after his sword –not fastened quite right thanks to much fiddling on the redhead's part- caught on a rock and tripped him over… taking out Harry and Hermione in the process. "Why is this so heavy?"

"Oh stop whining, Weasley, at least it's stylish, and fits great… we'll have to get used to this… nice of them to even put in a little sheath for our wands, though…" he tugged at the long, thin pocket attached to his belt where his wand was hidden, ready for use in a moment's notice. He was knocked out of the moment by Potter's loud, "Yeah, yeah, we all saw you admiring yourself in the mirrors…not to mention you've practically been strutting about for the last hour and a half…"

"I hope it hasn't been that long," answered Hermione, stomach growling in chorus with theirs, "Because it would be embarrassing to have spent so long just trying to walk fifty paces from one building to another…" They all blanched at that thought.

Of course, naturally fate was feeling rather generous that day, because at that moment Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase decided to round the corner, deep in conversation with Charles Beckendorf of the Hephaestus Cabin and some tall, rather intimidating teen whose loud voice echoed about off the walls until the four saw them sprawled in the dirt in an impromptu game of Twister.

"Well, well, well… what have we here? Little wizards and witches… what's wrong, the armour too heavy for you? It's like that for a few days… you'll get used to it… trust me, been there." Stated the unknown girl, nonchalantly. Her hand snaked out and grabbed hold of Harry, dragging him to his feet and out of the jumbled mess of limbs and metal, "Right, there you go, one down –_or should I say, 'up'?_- three to go… Ah, yes, introductions. Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares, nice to meet you, don't ever annoy me or I _will _find you, no matter where you hide. I have a big pointy spear…"

Percy laughed, "_Oi_! Don't scare them, we'll never get them back if they take off on their brooms or whatever… you do use brooms, right?" he asked, pulling Hermione off her keister, and she nodded, "Oh yes… but it's not as popular a mode of transport now, as it was back in the old days… mostly we use the brooms for playing Quidditch."

Annabeth had knelt down and surged upwards, holding tightly onto Draco –seemingly without embarrassment-, when her head turned, "What is this '_Quidditch_' you speak of?" and Ron, who was bodily lifted upright by Charles, drew in a deep breath, alongside Harry to gush out all the details. Draco yelled, "Stop them now or they'll never shut up!" and fumbled for his wand. "Don't make me _stupefy _you!" he threatened.

Potter and Weasley deflated a little, "Tell you later…. Long story short, it's easily the greatest game on the planet!" Harry mustered, excited though wary and watching Draco's hand reaching for the pouch. Ron's mouth being covered by Charles's hand. "Maybe you can watch a game when you come back to Hogwarts, Ron's the Gryffindor Keeper, I'm the Seeker…and Draco's Slytherin Seeker."

In a slow walk, the eight set off for the Dining Hall, where Breakfast smells were emanating from… "You keep going on about this _Gryffindor_ and _Slytherin_, what on earth does it mean?" Annabeth asked, curious as Hades about it… Hermione took the chance to answer that one, "Well… Grover explained to us how the Cabins worked just before, so it's a bit like Claiming… We're from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, which was founded by four people: Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. When at the school, new students would be divided into the Houses of Hogwarts, one named after each founder…"

Percy directed her through the doorway, and she continued to talk although all the campers kind of halted to look at them. "Well, the four founders had very specific claims to students… When new students came, Salazar took all the dedicated Purebloods and those with Cunning, Rowena chose those who were intelligent and dedicated to learning; Godric only asked for those students who were brave at heart and daring, whereas Helga was not as specific or picky, rather taking all those remaining into her own house… though they are exceptionally kind, fun, loyal and purportedly good finders –they'd have to be to FIND their Common room… no non-Hufflepuff has ever found it's Secret Entrance.

Well, when the years got on, they decided to put their collective knowledge and powers into the Sorting Hat, so he or 'it' could continue sorting students in future generations… and every year First Years come across the Great Lake, enter the Great Hall, and are called one by one to have the Sorting Hat placed on your head. It's called the Sorting Ceremony, for obvious reasons. It reads your mind and your heart, then chooses the House that it believes best suits you… Gryffindor for the Brave, Ravenclaw the Knowledgeable, Slytherin is for those of Cunning and Hufflepuff for those of Kind Nature and Loyalty."

She shrugged, "It's really exciting… we should see what the Hat says about you when we're there… although…" she looked around, "I don't think there's _quite_ enough room at the Gryffindor Table for you all…" Draco frowned, "Who said they'd _all_ be in boring old Gryffindor? There's probably a few Slytherins here…"

Both seemed to react instinctively for their wands, which rather excited those in the Dining Hall, given that it was absurd but interesting to see that both these other worlders appeared intent upon duelling each other with a pair of strange looking sticks… but Harry interceded the fight with a swift, "Knock it off you two! Draco…not really surprised, but Hermione… you of all people should know better, the Hat nearly made you a Ravenclaw after all…"

Hermione wrinkled her nose at the thought, but sheathed her wand. "It only did not because I asked it not to be made so… I'm proud to be a bold, brave and daring Gryffindor. Besides, what on earth would you two do without me?"

Ron shrugged, "Die, I suppose…" and they all laughed as the Campers looked on, wondering What the Hades the trio were talking about… must be a Hogwarts thing, they realised, because Draco was laughing too…

Their Demi-God escorts lead the way to the breakfast line, everyone taking a plate and trying their best not to stare at the Harpies serving bacon, eggs and toast to teens and children who were acting as if this was an everyday occurrence… So it probably was. Well, who were they to talk? At school it was normal for a staircase to change it's mind about your destination halfway up or down it, portraits talked back, there was a secret basilisk-concealing chamber in a girl's bathroom… that was also haunted by a very depressed/depressing ghost and a teacher _did_ try to kill them all or betray them at least once a year…

As the delicious looking items were placed on his plate, Harry couldn't help but notice how much they had served and was about to question it…when he saw a giant brazier at the end of the foodline, full of a strange leaping fire…where Campers would pause, whisper something and then scrape half their food into the flames…and continue.

His mouth parted to ask, first of all, What the Hell was going on…but Percy had already shoved him along towards it. "Oh, I don't suppose anyone told you about this yet, well… basically, at each meal we kind of make an 'offering' to our Godly parents… it's tradition…though I'd think Dad was sick of soggy toast by now… considering where he'd be eating it!" He laughed as the flames flared blue for a second, but the sound of the crackling flames was like laughter distorted under water… causing the Campers before them to squeak in surprise while Percy laughed and stressed the word, "_Daaaaaad_! _You're embarrassing me in front of my friends!_" Which caused the laughter to swell with the sapphire blue flames; before finally dying down so the next girl in line could make her offering to her mother, Aphrodite…

Frowning behind his glasses, Harry turned with a curious expression, "Then, uh…who do I give mine to? They kind of gave me a bit too much for just me to eat alone…" he gestured to the somewhat heaped plate… the Fire was getting nearer with only a handful of Campers between them and it. Ron, Hermione and Draco were having similar conversations with their Godly escorts. Percy looked thoughtful for a moment, before snapping his fingers, "I've got it! Give it to _Hestia_, she's Goddess of Hearth, Home and Family… she doesn't get many offerings… so she'll appreciate it. And I'm sure she'll try her best to see that none of you get maimed in Capture the Flag, later…"

Harry had been nodding along at the logic of the argument, right up to the last line where he froze with a look of horror on his face, "Wait…what?" Percy waved him off, "Tell you about it later… Chiron said so."

Percy stood before the fire, grinned and said, "Morning Dad, uh, _Poseidon_!" then scraped half his plate into the flame…which flared blue…then returned to orange, and Percy moved to let Harry have his go. The Chosen One felt a nervous flutter in his stomach, but slowly lifted his plate and said, "Hope you like Bacon and Eggs, _Hestia_…" then scraped half his plate into the flames. Within a second, the food disappeared in a warm golden glow, and a soft voice whispered, _Thank you…_

He felt quite pleased she had liked his offering, and resolved to give her all his mealtime offerings.

Clarisse made a great show of dedicating her Toast and eggs to her Father, Ares…stating "He doesn't really like bacon…" before moving off and letting Hermione offer her breakfast in turn to Athena, the patron of the knowledgeable and wise… which somehow didn't surprise Harry in the least. Annabeth fairly glowed as she smiled at Hermione, then greeted her mother and also slid half her breakfast into the flames.

In a strangely surprising twist, Draco also gave his offering to the Goddess of Home and Hearth, Hestia… who repeated her earlier reaction, but seemingly more surprised that someone else had remembered her. Then Charles stepped up, dropping more than half his plate in and grinning as he thanked his Father for the advice about the swords and armour they'd made last night…

All set to move to the table, Harry paused as he realised Ron was frowning at the little Flame Altar… he was about to suggest Ron also give his to Hestia, when –very deliberately- Ron scraped half his food into the brazier and stated, "_Hades_. You'd better be nice to Fred…" then strode towards them, looking somewhat relieved.

Behind him, a curl of flame licked upwards, brilliant and rather too bright, catching attention of all… a voice familiar to Percy and Annabeth drawled, "_Oh, he's fine… but thank you for your offering. I shall remember this… _" then the flames sank back to their original size and shape. Every Demi-God in the Room blinked, that had certainly never happened before… but then turned back to their plates.

"So, I don't think anyone would mind if you all came and sat at my table today, I'm sure no lightning bolts will be thrown…" Percy threw an absolute '_Don't you dare'_ GLARE at the ceiling, as if he knew Zeus was watching, then smiled. "At least you can probably throw some back with your little stick things…"

Hermione puffed herself up to throw back an answer as they arrived at the deserted table and sat down, Charles, Clarisse and Annabeth looking slightly nervous but sitting and waiting for death to come roaring from the Heavens… relaxing only when it didn't. "It's called a WAND, and yes, the right deflection spell could probably block lightning, like Pro-…"

Ron cut her off, "Hermione, could you maybe _not _act like a walking textbook, just for one meal? How about we tell YOU lot something? How about a little story… one we in the Wizarding World call, '_The Boy Who Lived_' and all about his First Year at Hogwarts?"

Harry was now throwing _HIS_ best '_Don't You Dare'_ look at Ron, who was acting oblivious… but sighed and gave in, considering how excited everyone at the table appeared.

~)0(~

"-so then old Flamel destroyed the Philosopher's Stone so Voldemort couldn't use it ever again… Not to mention the Centaurs _still_ have it out for old _no-nose_ for murdering all those unicorns… well, it's either them… or every female in Hogwarts. And that was just the FIRST Year…" Ron said with an incredulous tone. Harry's teeth audibly grinding and Hermione nodding along and correcting him when he tried to over-embellish the actual facts to make it sound like Fluffy was four times the size…

Blinking, they realised that every single Camper in the place had foregone their tables (and inherent fear of being punished by any of the other gods for sitting at another God's Table) to crowd around and listen in with wide eyes. Draco was somewhere under the table, realising how much of a git he'd been to the Trio in that year… Clarisse rolled her eyes and hauled him out by the back of his super-heavy chest plate…

Annabeth's eyes were as wide as Percy's… and Charles seemed enthralled by the story. The trio was soon as flushed as Draco in the awed silence, until Ron piped up with, "Alright… so maybe we screwed up a little bit… but you don't need to give us that look, you lot. To be fair, we were only eleven… and little Mr _Chosen One_ had no idea who he was… not like _now_. He pretty much struts _EVERYWHERE_… wait till I tell you about Cho Chang…or that time he blew up his aunt…"

Harry's teeth audibly groaned, "You… Wouldn't…DARE…"

His best friend's easy lopsided grin said that, _Oh yes…he would_… inspiration struck Harry, "You know, if you get that far in the story, of course we'll have to mention the Love Potion…or the spiders…" Now it was Ron's turn to backpedal, "You wo-… alright, we'll mention everything, no holds barred."

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and everyone turned to see a rather peeved looking Chiron with his arms folded across his chest and a stern expression plastered on his face, "Campers…it seems some of you are late to training… now I know our guests are very exciting, but you only have time for one more story because I've only cancelled the _first _training sessions of the morning, _not_ the _second_."

Jaws DROPPED as they realised the implications of what Chiron had just said, which then turned into spontaneous cheering… "Greatest Camp Counsellor, EVER!" Ron yelled, laughing. "Right, where were we? Okay, so Harry's Muggle relatives had decided he wasn't going back to Hogwarts –blooming idiots even put bars on his windows! So me, Fred and George had a brilliant idea… using the _Ford Anglea_… it can fly, by the way, but you didn't hear that from me. So anyway…"

~)0(~

* * *

_**TBC...**_

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_**Hope you liked it, **_

_**Please REVIEW if you feel like it...**_

_**~*SailorSilvanesti/Phoenix Fire*~**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson...or any of the associated characters...**

**Chapter 3... ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**~)0(~**

* * *

Clarisse gave the redhead a firm clap on the back, which hurt despite the padded armour, because EVERYTHING hurt… "You nearly had it there, Ron, maybe next time DUCK!" and laughed heartily. Whereas Harry was sprawled on the grass with a dazed expression on his face, right next to Draco, whom Annabeth was trying her best to persuade to get up off the ground. The Pureblood, however, was having none of it, groaning, rolling onto his face and moaning, "I'm tired…can't we just be Death Eaters?"

For which he received a whack from Harry, then both burst out laughing, leaving Annabeth and Percy to stare at one another incredulously. Wondering _What on Earth_ was wrong with this pair? At least Ron and Hermione had just thrown themselves into the regime… Charles had gone back to his forge after Breakfast, but was keeping a steady eye on where Hermione was learning to shoot a bow, just to make sure she wouldn't shoot herself through the face whilst re-stringing…

Not that had ever happened before…but there had been some near misses in their time.

"Get up or I'm going to drown you both in the bathtub!" yelled Percy with a menacing tone, hiding a smile with great difficulty. Draco rolled over to glare at him, "Why on Earth are we doing this, anyway? You're the ones who have to do all the fighting, we do have the 'magic-sticks' for a damn good reason, you know!" Prompting Annabeth to sigh dramatically, "Yes, and that's what makes you weak… didn't this Voldemort fellow recruit werewolves and other nasties that are more likely to tear you apart than wait for you to throw a spell at them?"

Logic won out and eventually, she got Draco on his feet, then tossed him to Percy… "All yours, please don't break him too badly…I think I rather like him." She stated, like mentioning that it was a somewhat cloudy day, to which his betrayed expression was then changed to one of surprised hopefulness. "As for you, oh Chosen One, I have _Chosen_…you to be my partner today, and you either get up in the next ten seconds…or I start our battle while you lie there!"

Suddenly, Draco didn't feel so bad about being 'given' to Percy as a partner.

~)0(~

Long as they might, -to crawl into a hole or the Infirmary- and die… the four magical students were told their few items had already been transported over to the Hermes' Cabin. Which meant they had to walk ALL the Way over THERE…which was not a good idea… because nearly everything hurt…and it was only lunchtime! How would they survive the rest of the day?

At this rate, half of them might return to Hogwarts…and only if there was a lot of Duct Tape involved… Ron was positively beaming though, having had a Daughter of the War God praise him by the end… and Hermione seemed exultant despite her exhaustion, given that in the last ten attempts, she had struck bullseye on at least four of the attempts. Whereas Harry and Draco could barely move… covered in bruises… Damn it was hard to fight a Demi-God! So hard to hit, skilled and naturally fleet on their feet… battle-tuned and ready, you could say.

Draco had learned the hard way being uncooperative was not a good way to get out of something in this mad camp; it just meant they were going to hit you…and you weren't going to react… which meant many bruises. Not to mention, when Harry had laughed at what he thought had been a joke on Annabeth's part… she cut the countdown to three and his laughter had turned to yelps as he struggled to both defend himself and scramble to his feet under the hailstorm of blows.

Now just about _all_ available parts of his person were sore…

Trudging back to the appointed cabin, they were surprised to find many Campers already there…changing into new outfits as the old ones were soiled from the morning's training, but still sliding the armour over the top of their new outfits. Loud voices cried out, "Hey! Nice to see you!" and "Ugh, not MORE! This cabin is so full you'll probably have to double up… I'm KIDDING!"

The horrified looks on their faces as all three of the boys realised that one of them would have to double up with Draco was priceless…

"He's Kidding, really!" said a short blonde boy to their right, throwing a glare at a brunette in a top bunk, "It kind of fits us all no matter how many of us there are… I'm Jake… son of _Gods-know-who_, heh, just a little joke I tell. You must be the kids from the other world… right, here's your bunks." He showed them to two double poster beds side by side at the end of the Cabin, looking rather like those of Hogwarts, but somehow a lighter wood that smelt of flowers…

Weird…. But workable.

"Right, we found you some more clothes, not sure if they'll do for permanent…but you could always just put your uniforms on under your armour, minus the robes, of course. Unless you _wanted_ them on, in which case, slip them over… would be interesting to see. Considering- _Hey_, what're you doing? It's Lunchtime! _Get up_…" laughed the boy, nudging at the face-down Harry, on the first bunk bed, as Draco toddled over to the other and repeated –if not topped- the perfect faceplant into the soft, cushiony mattress.

"Can't…Sleeping." Mumbled one or both of them, it was hard to distinguish…

Ron and Hermione sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, and flopped back, one on either side of the Chosen One –said Chosen One protesting at the mild bounce he was forced to endure on his aching _everything… _"Oh shush, you. We did more work than you two combined… but he's right, we have to get ready for Lunch, come on…" said Hermione, rather hypocritically, since her eyes were shut…

Jake poked them all, "Come on, don't make me go and get Percy, he has a scary tendency of using a tidal wave as an alarm clock…" he waited, Ron stirred feebly and sat up, only to fall on the floor and snore, drooling a little. He tapped his foot, so rhythmically the others fell to sleep… When he realised he was probably the last conscious person in the vicinity of the suddenly empty Cabin, Jake threw his hands in the air and stalked off, calling out to the exhausted teens, "Fine! Just remember _you_ asked for this!"

~)0(~

"We should be safe in here, but you need to be quiet, understand?" panted the ragged voice, and a group of First, Second and Third Years in bedraggled, dirty and torn clothing nodded with wide, fearful eyes. They shuffled back as the walls thrummed and shook with the fire of attack… not specifically focused at them…but still unnerving…

Their saviour of the moment hastily shoved the unresisting form of the older red-head before him, forcing him to sit on a chair the room had provided, George just stared at his hands; his two older brothers, Bill and Charlie, burst through the doors, dragging the ragdoll form of Percy Weasley in between them. Bill threw a hex over his shoulder, permanently disabling the Death Eater chasing the pair, well, trio…but Percy wasn't contributing much. Fixing his eyes on the speaker, he yelled, "Neville, they've trapped Luna and a bunch of Hufflepuff Fourth Years on the Third Floor, we couldn't get to them, but the Order is coming… They're- Neville, NO!"

It was too late… Neville had torn out of the Room of Requirement, wand at the ready and determination on his face…Luna was in danger, and he was going to save her.

~)0(~

Chiron was thoughtfully gazing over the Camp, standing beside him were several of the Gods and Goddesses in their smallest mortal forms… Unbeknownst to Zeus, some of them periodically dropped by to get progress reports on their individual children. What they didn't know, was that Zeus did the exact same for Thalia, his daughter…

"These past few days have been most interesting," Chiron mentioned, musing over the events as several loud screams could be heard echoing with a loud gurgling, all coming from the direction of the Hermes Cabin. Said God was looking rather worriedly in that direction, but the centaur held up a hand with a smile on his face, "I do not think any of your Progeny are in danger of anything more than laughing too hard, that was not their voices…though I feel our guests may soon be called upon to undo whatever enchantment they have cast on Percy."

Poseidon growled and clutched his trident in anger, but the Camp Master merely threw his, '_I'm actually joking…_' expression towards the God of the Sea, who calmed… which was probably for the best, considering the ornate fountain of two leaping dolphins behind them had been boiling and churning like the worst of storm-tossed seas…

"Now, as I was saying, Athena… Annabeth has simply surpassed all expectations and her battle prowess is of the highest standard… but I should mention, she does seem to be a little preoccupied lately…you could say 'distracted' by one of our guests…" Chiron paused, to see how the Goddess of Logic would react to this news…

Standing rigid, hands by her sides, the beautiful face swivelled like her favoured animal, the owl, latching onto his gaze so sharply it was almost like a slap. "WHO IS HE?" she demanded, wind howling… sky darkening dramatically… well, she was a mother, after all. This was the least violent reaction he had ever seen… Now, when Aphrodite found out her son's boyfriend in the Apollo Cabin had broken his heart… Well, it was lucky Zeus and Artemis had intervened, let's put it that way… or Apollo would have been forced to go to War over the death of his child.

"Swear you will not harm her…" Chiron let slip 'accidentally', watching Athena's face blanche, then flash, "WHO IS _SHE_?" then pause as the centaur began to laugh, "Oh, I apologise…but your expression was priceless, no…she feels for the Malfoy boy, Draco and I believe he reciprocates. Ah, there he goes…the blonde chasing Percy…" He pointed. Poseidon growled again, until he realised his son was laughing as he ran, with the sodden wizard trailing behind, then falling on his face and calling for a generalised time out.

Athena tapped her foot, deep in thought, "I shall be watching." She said at length, and disappeared back to Olympus. Apollo stepped forwards next, asking after his children… then Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite and so on, until he and Poseidon were the only two left, watching the chaotic hilarity that was Camp Half-Blood.

"You are certain that he will be safe?" Poseidon asked hesitantly, eyes focused on his one and only child… Chiron shifted his hindquarters as he thought how best to answer the question. "As safe as any of those going… though I have no doubt that his new friends, nor his old, will let him fall…"

With a restless shifting of the trident, he sighed, "And that is as good as one can hope for, I suppose…Would you mind if I stayed to observe this next game of Capture the Flag? I feel it shall be interesting… Tell me, do you intend to let them use their magic?"

The centaur seemed to consider this, then cocked his head to the side and said, "If you wish to stay, please do so…I think it will be more of a challenge to see who can last the longest without using their magic, rather than if they can use it or not, but we shall see…"

Poseidon let out a gruff chuckle, "Yes, we shall…Now if you will excuse me, I must go an pretend to be a stream… don't tell Percy I'm here... I think, I shall surprise him."

~)0(~

And suddenly the world was a cold, wet, rushing torrent of freezing water… Draco was knocked flat off his bottom bunk with a shriek of surprise that he later denied; Potter and Granger gave startled screams, and Weasley just sort of floated off on the mattress someone had rolled him onto. Completely unaware…

It was rather funny, actually, but right now he couldn't bring himself to laugh… Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon –clue in the title- stood to the side trying to maintain his innocent expression and failing miserably as he burst out laughing…holding his sides and wheezing, more like. There was a "Whoa!" a splash and much spluttering as Ron rolled over and discovered the cabin was now an impromptu swimming pool.

Harry was glaring, Hermione seemed thoughtful…most likely trying to think of some sort of spell to dry this mess up before it ruined anything…other than her borrowed clothes. With a gesture, Percy threw all the water out of the small cabin and watered the lawn surrounding…but he discovered that it lacked the ability to dry up the glares he was receiving.

"Percy, if I could move right now, you'd be dead…" Harry threatened, hauling himself upon the bed again and grimacing as the thing made squelching noises…water pooling underhand. Looking mock-surprised and rather stern, Percy put his hands on his hips and said –in his most unique impression, but not great, of Chiron- "Now, now you four… It's Lunchtime and you should not be lazing in bed, up and at them!"

"Oh I'll '_up and at 'em_' YOU, alright…" Draco said, leaping up and chasing the suddenly-running-and-laughing-like-an-idiot-Percy out the Cabin door, if he could just focus on moving his tired aching body and simultaneously gain the skill to snatch his wand out of its leather sheath… this particular Demi-God was a Goner.

Too bad even that simple task seemed too damn difficult, he was getting winded sprinting after the speedy Demi-God, they made it as far as the Field two cabins away…before Draco's wet, heavy armour caught up with him and he wheezed once before falling on his face. Holding both hands high in a 'T' formation, using the universal symbol for '_Time-Out_' or, in this instance, '_For the Love of the Gods Stop Running I'm Dying Here!_' with a dozen exclamation points behind it all…

Percy, helpfully, sat down right beside his head and laughed until it hurt.

~)0(~

Making their way –well, hobbling- into the Dining Hall about five minutes late for Lunch even after all that drama and their impromptu swim, it was interesting to see how their arrival caused such a great stir. They were all clad in new clean clothes, and mostly-dry armour… it was still a tiny bit wet in places, but on the most part the enchantments to prevent rust that were hammered into it's very make-up had repelled the majority of water.

Eyes watched them from the second they stepped through the door, and all the way along the lunch line,- it was burgers- they all took two, and did their offerings to their various chosen gods and goddesses, before sitting at the Poseidon Table, and being suddenly surrounded.

"Come on, tell us what happened next!" cried the adorable little girl from the Aphrodite Cabin, batting eyelashes in a way only the cruellest of Tyrants could ignore and NOT give in to. Burger half-way to his mouth, Ron sighed and was about to start in on their Third Year's adventures…when Grover appeared, barging through them all with a tray of glowing drinks, "Hey, everybody move back!"

He set it in front of them and sat down at the table, surprisingly easy considering he was half-goat…

"Alright, everyone take a quick sip of this, it should restore your strength and stop everything of hurting… probably even fix up some of the injuries you came in with, too. Did well for your first session, though… most people get their butts handed to them, but from what I hear, some of you tried your best to return the favour." The Protector, First-Class grinned and winked at the two blushing Gryffindors. Someone let out a cheer, then yelled, "Any chance of a story now?"

"Did I not just say '_in a minute_'?" Grover yelled back, trying to look stern but ruining it with his easy grin. He looked back, thrusting a cup at them all and they hastily snatched the glowing liquid as he said, "Here drink this, it'll make you feel better… go on, it's not a Shimmering Elixir…" he directed the last statement at Draco for a second time.

They shrugged as a unit and downed it, trusting his every word…Annabeth, Clarisse, Percy and Charles also had their share… sighing as the invigorating and relaxing sensation of liquid ambrosia flooded their systems, soothing aches. Everything should be just about healed by the beginning of the Capture the Flag in an hour or so… just after free time… so it worked out well.

On the other hand, Harry, Ron and Hermione were wide-eyed from the sensation… but got over it pretty quickly when things stopped throbbing in different areas, Draco gave a Cheshire cat smile and prodded Ron, "Weasley, tell the story… go on… then Annabeth will get why I'll turn you into a Llama and those two will hex you into next century if you even _think _about using a _you-know-what_…"

Giving a forlorn look at his burger, where it sat innocently and invitingly on his plate, Ron sighed and gave in as the Demi-Gods crowded in closer with excited expressions. "Alright, as before, you have to know those blasted Muggles the Dursleys are humungous pains in the behind… well, THIS time they had his Aunt Marge over –right Muggle, that woman, and she had this DOG fetish…"

~)0(~

"-so it turned out Sirius was Harry's godfather and trying to protect him all along, didn't have to flipping bite me though! Then these two run off and have all sorts of fun while I'm stuck talking to Captain bleach-blonde over there in the Hospital Wing… then Sirius got free on Buckbeak, and that was both the end and beginning of it. Not sure what happened to the time turner… but anyhow, can I eat my burger now?" he finished.

Hermione frowned, "Wait…WHEN did Draco end up in the Hospital Wing? I don't recall seeing him there…" Draco rolled his eyes, "There's a good reason you couldn't SEE me, Granger. It was your idiotic house-mate, Finnegan… Crabbe and Goyle were ill and you lot were missing, so I ended up paired with him in Potions earlier that day… Not ONLY was I turned invisible, but he managed to singe my eyebrows off… Madam Pomfrey made me stay in the Ward for '_observation and generalised making certain I didn't get underfoot in any way_' due to the invisibleness. Which I think was her nice way of saying, '_We don't want you running around the school invisible, who knows what you'll get up to?_'"

"It took all of two seconds to work out he was there, git kept throwing things at me until I threw a Stunning Spell back across the room just before the pair of you burst in again." Ron laughed, Draco glared. Annabeth looked fascinated, "How long were you invisible for?" she asked with interest sparkling in her eyes. "Twenty four hours, it was a Temporary Blinding Potion gone wrong, the full effect should have lasted forty-eight hours –if brewed correctly-, so I was lucky they'd paired me with that idiot…" he answered, still looking like he was going to throttle Seamus when he got back to Hogwarts… well, if the infuriating creature was still alive. He blanched.

Harry and Ron caught onto that thought, but Hermione seemed further ahead as she stated, "I doubt he'd be dead, you three… given his uh, propensity towards exploding things. It's more likely we'll get there to find bits and pieces of Death Eater decoratively splayed across the entire of the Castle…"

The Demi-God Campers backed off slightly in a worried shuffle as the Other-worlders seriously nodded at one another, as if this was normal practice…

Hogwarts suddenly seemed a very scary place indeed…

~)0(~

The staircase shifted suddenly. Heart-pounding, he prayed it wouldn't connect with the landing it was heading for… he already knew there were at least two-dozen of Voldemort's men in that corridor. On the other Hand, that was _exactly_ where Luna was, so he'd go if it killed him.

Her scream echoed off the walls, cold, hard and commanding. A flood of younger, shorter students dressed in raggedy, somewhat-destroyed Hufflepuff robes flooded the stairway and hid behind him instinctively; horror shot through his spine as the staircase began to shift again, and Luna didn't appear. "Get low, go to _The Place We Told You To Run To_ if you can, but if you can't make it there, hide and one of us will come and find you. Got it?"

Most of them nodded and turned tail, dragging those frozen in fear along, because Hufflepuffs were nothing if not loyal and would never leave someone behind… He saw green spells slam into the walls and tear chunks of concrete and tile off in violent sprays of deadly force; heart thumping, Neville tore up the stairway and leapt just before the staircase moved too far away for him to do so… shoes thudding solidly onto the landing and mind buzzing to try and recall another way off this floor. Another scream, but closer, she was almost tangible… and someone else screamed also, oh no… colour drained out of his face as he recognised the voice.

Wasn't it enough that family had lost Fred? Surely not Ginny too!

"Leave her _ALONE_!" shouted Luna, and hurled a golden spell he'd never seen before at the masked Death Eater, who screamed and seemed to shrivel in upon herself… hah! It was a Carrow; _Alecto_ if he was not mistaken…

"Luna, Ginny! Are you alright?" he yelled, then threw up a Shield Charm hastily in order to avoid the unfortunate near-miss of a Stunning Spell aimed at his face…

Luna's normally vague, but beautiful eyes were sharply in focus right now, they seemed to pierce him deeply to the core with some form of accusation, a predatory presence that regarded him with tensed muscles before finding him more friend than foe… It was then the look dissolved as tears ran down her cheeks. "She's…gone, Neville. I tried really hard…but she's gone. Lucius Malfoy was behind us and he got her… _I tried_." Her voice was so small, it was barely more than a whisper.

He bent down to touch her shoulder, wanting to give her a hug to reassure…but that could wait until they were safely in the Room of Requirement, for now he took up the sad duty of slipping his arms under Ginny's still-warm but horrifyingly limp body, and running with her. Their flight was swift, heart-pounding and soul-crushing… How many had to die before Voldemort was satisfied?

No matter what the cost, they would bring him down, destroy him. It was all they could do… the alternative was to surrender to slaughter, death on their knees as those who fought against them howled their cold, ringing laughter to the barren stone walls of the remaining ruins of Hogwarts.

That would never happen while he still lived.

'_At Hogwarts you will always have a Home'_, that was what he had been taught, and _Merlin-damn-it_, he was going to try his best to keep it that way! With a blink, he realised they had reached their destination, the trance of adrenaline, fear and pure determination to keep weary muscles going lifted enough to allow rational thought for a moment.

As the doors to the Room of Requirement –their secret Fortress within Hogwarts- split open to reveal the Hufflepuffs they'd saved, and all four of the Weasley brothers, Neville found he couldn't speak… Only able to hand over her body and collapse to his knees beside the equally exhausted Luna, and feel nothing.

As the tears and anguish of her brothers echoed around the strangely vast chamber, it felt as if the light of hope was fading, the resolve of their army dwindling as it's members lost their lives, one by one… No one had seen any of the Order for hours, a Fifth Year Ravenclaw had reported Professor Lupin and Tonks were dead, and Colin Creevy was gone… poor little guy, at least he didn't see it coming, hadn't been afraid. Took a Killing Curse right to the back…

Why did bad things happen to good people?

No, that wasn't the question that needed asking… the real question was, _Where_ was their Chosen One and his Friends? He knew they'd gone for aid a day ago…but hadn't seen them since; something deep in his heart told Neville that the Dark Lord knew of the Room of Requirement and was merely toying with them, letting their own dwindling hope crush them… then he would strike, when there was no resistance left in any of Dumbledore's Army.

"We…we should… probably find your parents," he said at length to Bill, Charlie and Percy –who, despite being a complete prat, still loved his little sister dearly- all three looked at him as he rose, Luna beside him, wand at the ready. George looked like he was going to break. The Patil Twins were unconscious and bandaged upon one of the many beds, Aberforth had yet to bring more supplies, most of the Slytherins were sided with Voldemort… but some were too scared. There was a mixture of all houses here, all ages; medical supplies were running low, but there was enough food being secretly sent up from the Kitchens by the remaining House Elves to keep them fed… So many things wrong, and yet almost as many triumphs. It was hard to tell whether to feel optimistic, pessimistic, or a strange numb sensation that blocked all emotion on the matter.

Of course, the alternative was to go completely firebolting bonkers and throw caution to the wind… maybe strip off and run at Voldemort while crying and babbling about the deep and purposeful meaning of seeing a double rainbow… Who knew? He'd seen stranger things…

Seamus was actively blowing up everything within reach –both inside and outside the Room, nervous twitches had a way of turning explosive when your guard was down…maybe someone should grab his wand? Dean Thomas was down and injured, as was a handful of the Ravenclaw Seventh-Years they'd recruited…

In short, it was all going to Hell in a Handbasket and they had no hope of winning, but they were going to _TRY_ dammnit! Even if it killed him, Neville wouldn't, -_couldn't-_, give up while there was still a chance…

"Let's go find them," he said, and the doors parted… Luna surreptitiously rising on legs that trembled as much as his own, shadowing his moves until she was certain there would be no overt rejection…and ending up at his side. A smile quirked his lips, but now was not the time… even if one of her radish earrings was now a brilliant green and twisted upon her head so as to replicate a short, florescent, lime-coloured unicorn's horn…

War was a serious business, you know…

~)0(~

Going back for seconds was easily the best, and worst thing he had ever done in his life…

Ron was slowly slipping the second burger on his plate into the fire, offering it to Hades, when the Flame flared again, as it had before and the same smug, Mick Jagger voice called out, "Mmmm, nothing like a good burger, oh…and Ginny says _Hello_, by the way…"

Ron dropped his plate, shattered porcelain and burger fixings falling about everywhere; Hermione lost a fork in a loud clatter and Harry's knife was suddenly impaled in a ceiling beam… "WHAT?" came the shattered cry of disbelief, three sets of eyes wide and seeming to beg for it not to be true; even Draco looked quite put out… another Weasley had fallen.

"If you don't believe me…" drawled the voice, a tad smug but very sincere and slightly compassionate, "you should ask that _Bottom_ boy… _Norville_ or whatever his name is, he will confirm it. Have a Nice Day…" and the fire resumed its natural state. Ron looked horrified, but Hermione was the one who threw her plate across the room like a deadly Frisbee…

"Ooooh, it's not FAIR!" she shrieked, "First Fred, now Ginny… no, Ron, please! Come Back!" But he was gone, racing out the doorway, forcing the Demi-Gods left in his suden departure's wake to blink as a red blur shot past at great speed… "Crap!" yelled Harry, and went to run after him, but Percy grabbed him, "Wait, Harry! Is this Ginny…like, the Ginny in your Stories, _Ginny_? Or another Ginny…"

"It's one of the Weasley Clan, I can assure you… first time I ever saw her I instantly made fun of that fact… you have no idea how much I regret that right now." Draco said in a deliberately calm voice, "But for now, we need to catch him before we have to add another Weasley-laden coffin to the Funeral Service…" and so saying, the blonde leapt over the table and took off. Slightly damp armour or no…

"He's right, we have to go catch him before he does something he'll regret…" Hermione said, actually bending the spoon in her hand into a shape that was almost impossible to identify; Harry began to run, Percy, Hermione and Annabeth at his back, praying they would find him before he chose to do something utterly reckless.

~)0(~

_Ginny… Oh Merlin, WHY? She was only a little- well, okay, _not-so-little_, but still… his baby sister! Emphasis on the BABY… Bloody Hell, was it only yesterday she'd brought him a fingerpainting of what she was adamant was him riding a broom –_even if all he could see were vague red blobs_- and she'd beamed when he told her how wonderful it was? It felt like it… but if that was so, she'd be waiting to surprise him by pouncing on his bed in the morning…not-… not being laid out in her best dress and tossed carelessly in the ground without thought to the future she could have had, amongst all the sobbing of grieving, solemn onlookers._

_Fred was Dead, Ginny was too apparently, or was she…?_ The thought plagued him heavily.

Breathing heavily, he plunged headfirst through a thicket of trees, swinging wildly with the sword he'd been given… but they seemed to bend inwards, locking branches and were generally appearing to cage him in… He panicked. Last time a forest had done this… there had been a twenty-foot spider waiting to have a conversation with them and he wasn't falling for _that_ twice.

Ron raised an arm to slash his way through, thought better of it and dropped the weapon…hitting the ground on his knees, how unfair could this be? Who had done it? Who had killed her?

"I cannot say, young warlock, but you seem very distressed, why don't you tell me about it?" soothed a soft, sweet voice about a foot behind him, he twisted about to see if he could find them in the deep, cool shade afforded by the tree barricade. It was a woman, no, more like a teenager… but her skin and hair were green… no, that too seemed to shift in his perception until he gave up trying to work it out and just asked the obvious, "And Who- What- _Who_ are you?"

"My name is Juniper, a Dryad… the little bush that I belong to is just over there… but you seemed so sad I had to come and see if you were alright. But you're not alright, are you?" she knelt down next to him, feet bare and yellow summer dress resting at her knees.

With a trembling sigh, Ron told her everything that had just happened, and watched the pretty face marred with sadness and concern… "Oh, I do hope he is not lying! That's it! We must go and ask this _Norville Bottom_ if Hades is lying or not…" she stood decisively and yanked him upright, "Come, there's a fountain ahead and I have a few Drachmas to my name…"

Only just feet away -through the trees that parted easily-, was a clearing surrounded by Juniper bushes… and a lovely fountain of two dancing water nymphs; with a tight smile of anticipation and concern, Juniper pressed a heavy gold coin in his hand… whispering instructions in his ear.

For a moment, Ron was too filled with dread to find out the truth, but he had to know for certain…and so, his heavy feet were dragging his body to the lip of the fountain, allowing cool spray from one of the Nymph's urns to catch him as a light breeze stirred. Then, as Juniper had said, he addressed the fountain seriously, "_Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow… Accept my Offering."_ Finding himself flicking the drachma –as the coin was called- end over end into the spray…and waiting.

It luminesced into a resplendent rainbow for a moment as she, Iris he presumed, acknowledged his offering, then silently asked whom it was he wished to contact. "Oh, er, Neville Longbottom…if you can…uh, please?" Another flash of rainbow…

Ron half-wondered what that meant, and crossed his fingers.

~)0(~

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

_**So... if you liked it, please Review and let me know...**_

_**~*SailorSilvanesti/Phoenix Fire*~**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or any associated Characters...**

**Chapter 4... as promised.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**~)0(~**

* * *

The whole scenario of being pinned down in the bathroom was getting rather old, and Neville was –to be honest- completely sick of the whole cat and mouse game; Luna crouched low by his side as a toilet two cubicles over exploded. Mr and Mrs Weasley were somewhere outside throwing hexes, curses and some interesting Muggle Profanity about… having taken one look at the exhausted pair of teens and told them to take a minute, which had made Neville feel worse about the message he bore them.

This dishevelled but courageous pair of people who were still taking out Death Eaters, Werewolves and Wild Men left, right and centre so trapped students might have a better chance to reach safety… Now he knew where Ron got it from…

He had _had_ to tell them…

Although the circumstances were horrible, it had seemingly increased their fervour to completely and utterly destroy Voldemort's forces one by one, potentially forcing said Dark Lord to eat his own unmentionables in the progress, if possible.

The battered Gryffindor nearly fell _IN_ the toilet they were crouched on when a rainbow appeared in midair, gleaming resplendently and clearing to show a distressed Ron, surrounded by a sunny, though partly cloudy woodland, in clothes he'd never seen before and …was that armour?

"Ron, what're you-?" he got out before a cold tone cut through his like a scalpel through warm flesh, "**Is it true, Neville**?" Pushing aside the complete and utter curiosity that Ron had found out, there was no other event to which the Weasley could be referring…and found himself nodding. "Aye, Ginny was killed, by Lucius Malfoy..."

Luna whimpered slightly, "I'm so sorry Ron, I really tried to save her…"

The stony expression soften at the edges, "I'm sure you did Luna, both of you… but nobody touch Malfoy, he's MINE…got it?" they nodded, not wanting to be put on his bad side right now, then tensed.

"_Ron, we're pinned down in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Death Eaters have us trapped, but your parents are…"_ there was a particularily loud curse that widened the younger Weasley's eyes somewhat. "Oh, I can hear them… hang on, we'll be there soon, time in this world moves slightly faster than our own, if you can hold out for a few more hours, we'll be there…with or without bells on. _Your choice_." A silly grin appeared for a second, before flashing out of existence as Yaxley kicked open their bathroom stall and dissipated the mist that had kept their connection to Ron open by slicing his wand downward with a horrifying crackle of white lightning.

"Oh Shi-…" Neville began, snatching for his wand, but Mrs Weasley cried out, "Don't you dare say that word, young man! _CRUCIO_!" Yaxley went flying through the air and lay in a ball of screaming twitches on the cold tiled surfaces, "You will _NOT_ take another child from this world if we can help it. Arthur, are you alright, dear?"

"Just fine, dear," came the reply, "But they have the most marvellous item over here…" Luna and Neville moved out of the stall to see he was playing with a Yo-Yo, which had an obscene looking Dark Mark etched into it in white paint. "Arthur, I love you, but if you don't drop that right now I'll hex YOU next!" she turned to them, an air of motherly affection and terror, "Now you two, why don't we just get ourselves back to _'the fortress'_ shall we?"

Like you would argue with this woman…when she was holding a wand. With a clatter, the yo-yo hit the floor, and four pairs of hurried footsteps retreated up the corridor…

~)0(~

It was closer to one in the afternoon than lunchtime by the time someone remembered seeing Ron run into the forest, Grover lead the way through the undergrowth with a strange look on his face; like he could guess at something the others could not…

In an abandoned clearing half-filled by a fountain, they found a ridiculously attractive green woman, crouched down by the very person they were searching for… he appeared asleep, though there was a slight burn mark across one cheek. "Oh, I was waiting for you… there was some sort of attack, when he was using the Iris Messages. He was speaking to a tall though dirty boy in a cardigan and a blonde girl with radishes on her ears… they had just said a '_Ginny_' had died, when an ugly man broke through a door and did something. It shot sparks out and one got Ron… I am most sorry I did not protect him. _Grover_! I missed you!"

Hermione hit the dirt by Ron as Juniper leapt upright to hug Grover, Harry frowned… hearing that Ginny was dead from both Neville AND Luna was a blow; certainly, a brother's grief was first and foremost at the moment...but she had technically been his girlfriend for, what, a year now…? Draco was looking at the burn, "It's not too bad, should heal quickly, now to wake him up…"

Percy raised the majority of the fountain's water supply, gesturing with a wide, evil grin; Hermione shook her head, "Less, or you'll drown him. Boys…can be _such_ idiots, sometimes…" she sighed at Annabeth, who didn't exactly disagree. "Stand back!" Percy called, and dumped a bucketful of water on Ron, Draco (being half-caught in the deluge) spluttered, turned around and rushed the Demi-God, tackling Percy so they both ended up in the fountain.

But it had the desired effect, the redhead surged up coughing, sucking in a lungful of air before using a very unique word that would have Mrs Weasley soap his mouth out… Draco's eyes were wide as Saucers, and full of respect; Hermione was appalled, Harry seemed to be committing the word to memory … Whereas both of the present Demi-Gods plus one Dryad and Satyr-Protector seemed lost on the meaning…

"She's dead… Neville and Luna are doing their best but they're desperate for us to get there with reinforcements… and my parents are with them, trying to get back to the Fortress, but they got pinned down in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. I can tell they'd told them about Ginny… I didn't realise either of them knew so many, uh…_ways to describe someone's parentage_…" he grinned, winced at his face where the skin tightened about the burn and put on a serious look, "Sorry for running out like that, any chance I didn't miss that Capture the Flag game of yours, sounds like fun!"

Too Cheerful.

Percy smiled, "Yeah, it's on in about ten minutes… just enough time to get you dry and deal with that burn… Come here." He dragged Ron over to the fountain, grabbed a hand and dipped them both in the water… intensive concentration rippled his expression as water seeped up Ron's arm and neck, over his cheek and seemingly flushed away the injury.

"How did you DO that?" Hermione gaped, mentally thumbing through the pages of every textbook she could recall and finding no such magic… silently lamenting that she had not had the chance to study Elementals in the Seventh Form, like she would have if they hadn't been chasing Horcruxes all over the globe.

"Make you a deal…" Annabeth said from beside her, "You explain to me what kind of classes you take at this School of yours, and I'll tell you how he did that…"

"Deal!"

The girls walked away, speaking rapidly in a way only another intellectual could decipher… Draco pouted a little, he wished the Daughter of Athena would show just as much excited attention when he spoke, but for some reason his tongue had recently decided to take up a bastardised combination of Pilates and yoga whenever she was around…

"Someone's got it bad…" Harry said in his ear, forcing Draco to whack him; then smirked. "Speak for yourself, Potter… I see Percy isn't exactly letting go of Weasley in a hurry now, either…"

He might as well have painted a Bullseye on his back.

~)0(~

"We're going to die!" shrieked a high voice, setting off the rest of the panicked First Years, all shrilling and clamouring to get space for themselves; George rubbed his temples, "Calm down, you're fine…we're safe here as long as you remain QUIET."

Instant Silence…in which excessive yelling could be heard, coming from outside… the doors creaked open to admit Neville, Luna, and his Mam and Dad. The second the doors slammed shut, their eyes alighted on the array of sheet-covered bodies, all seemingly too small and fragile to be more than dolls…

"She's…she's right here, Mum… Dad." He said, moving to the furthest bed and carefully peeling back the sheet to reveal the somewhat combed and cleaned face of his younger sister. The Patil Twins, -Padma and Parvati- having awoken earlier and seen to the details he and the others could not face… Brushing out her matted hair and wiping most of the grime away…

He left them to grieve as best he could, wishing to all the Gods out there and yet none, that Fred was here to help him through losing Ginny… instead of lying under the sheet two beds from hers; was it possible to live with a broken heart?

Yes.

He, George Weasley, was living proof… and he threw back his head, laughing loudly, hollowly, at the irony.

~)0(~

"You sure you wanna play this game, Ginger-boy?" Clarisse asked for the third time, expecting another hostile silence, but instead was surprised when her new teammate responded with, "I just need to go and hit something really hard… that's all. Any volunteers?"

She laughed and clapped him on the back, "That's the Spirit! Welcome to the Red Team!"

Her brothers and sisters from the Ares Cabin raised their spears high, cheering loudly… Draco frowned, somewhat GLARING at the helmet someone had been kind enough to loan him; for some reason a sixth sense seemed to just _know_ that the second he put it on his head, he would be effectively blinded…and his perfect hairstyle would most certainly be ruined.

Still, the others of the Red Team wore it that way, so he would honour their way of doing things… and a small voice inside sneered at the word 'tradition' as it was used in this context, but a larger, warmer part quashed the nasty thought like a giant, fuzzy tidal wave. Annabeth had chosen him to be on her team… that alone had him strung up enough to go one-on-one with the girl in pigtails on the Blue Team, wielding that rather-lethal looking big spikey mace thing…

She had chosen HIM… not Potter; not Granger –whom he had been getting along fabulously with recently- and not even WEASLEY, -who Clarisse had practically staked her claim on before he'd even fully changed out of his somewhat destroyed clothing. Either she was interested…or she knew something might happen that she didn't want to fight against in this battle. Either way… Annabeth had chosen _him_, there was a bounce in his step.

Hermione was easily recognisable under her helmet, because her hair poked out from under the back in caramel waves, occasionally clonking helmets with Harry, comically and completely unintentionally as they became used to the weight. Ah well, if even Granger could do it, so could he…

With one last stroke of the beautiful red plumage, Draco jammed the glorified tin can onto his head, and was pleasantly surprised to find he had, indeed, been WRONG… it fitted perfectly. With a tight grip on the sword he barely knew how to use, his every muscle tensed…

"Teams…" called Chiron from the ridge above the two armies facing each other, swords drawn, "The Flags are hidden well… Fight well, Be Brave… BATTLE!"

With grim faced determination, he rushed forwards, letting the swell of the moment release from his throat in a wordless battlecry that echoed in many a throat… So this was living? He could get used to it…

And then he came face-to-face with the girl wielding the giant, spikey mace…

"Oh_ Shi-_…"

~)0(~

Something internally made him intensely wary of the fact that the flag was just sitting there, in the open, innocuously… Wind wafted through the clearing like a sigh, lifting the navy blue fabric and coercing it to undulate gently, like a wavy ocean at evening; which meant it simply HAD to be a trap, that much was for certain.

Then again, who really cared?

Throwing caution to the wind, a certain redhead ran from the treeline where he crouched with Clarisse, pumping legs making for the _suddenly much-further-away-than-previously-imagined _flag that was obviously the cheese in this giant game of mousetrap… A battlecry flew from his lips unbidden, echoed by a thousand voices as those with blue helms suddenly erupted to surround him, heh… Suckers.

Raising the sword high, Ron called out, "NOW!" and almost the entire red team came flying from where they had hidden to ambush the would-be ambushers… Ironic, really. The surprise on the two-dozen blue team's faces was priceless as they whirled about to take on those behind them determined to protect the flag…

He could see Harry arguing with Hermione over the idea of simply stunning everyone with magic and TAKING the Red Flag (which had yet to be found by them), she was animatedly pointing out that that would technically be cheating when Clarisse jumped the pair of them and a certain Chosen One let out a rather high, girlish squeal. Prompting Draco to burst out laughing and fall from the tree he had been observing the Blue Team's defences from… there was a soft "Fooomph" and the blonde disappeared into a pile of leaves…

In any case, adrenaline demanded he DO something, even as Hermione fought off Clarisse with remembered defensive moves from that morning, and Harry attempted to rally the Blue Team given that Percy-…wasn't-…here-…

"DAMMNIT!" he cried aloud, "Clarisse, Percy's going for our flag!" and without another word, he ran off to stop him. If he had dared to look back at the rustling sound following him, he would have seen Draco coming along behind, looking for all the world like a large green bush had decided to just get up and go for a rather animated jog…

~)0(~

Grainy dust and small rubble sifted off the walls, trickling down onto the heads of those below as there came a determined battering from all directions, the room shaking and sending the First and Second Years into paroxysms of fear and shrieking. Death Eaters stood on all the external sides of the Room they could reach and were avidly slinging spells or throwing themselves at the hidden doorway… Given the thunderous shaking coming from above, they seemed to be hexing and cursing the Room from the floor above. It was terrifying the older students and the adults… not that they'd ever let the younger students know that.

Mrs Weasley was a force to be reckoned with. Wading in amongst the screaming children, hushing, soothing, cajoling, hugging… wiping noses with her indefinite supply of hankies and giving out lollypops or whatever else she could think of... quickly, quietly, the hysteria subsided. As did the siege on their temporary fortress… or maybe that was because the room had thickened the walls between them and the attack in an effort to keep them safe. Hogwarts was fighting with them, protecting them as best it could…

Hogwarts would always be their home, and they would not let it fall.

But they needed food, and bandages, and whatever else could be scrambled from the Infirmary… or Defence Against the Dark Arts rooms, because there were some fearful reactions to curses that even Mr Weasley –who had worked in the area of undoing such Dark Magicks- could neither identify nor counter-spell. With a heavy heart, Neville realised they might have to leave their sanctuary again…

He turned to leave, but something unexpected happened… Mrs Weasley grabbed him by the ear, "_Oh no you don't_, young man! You are not going anywhere until you've had a rest, something to eat and let me have a go at the cut on your forehead…" she admonished, tossing him onto a spare bed a foot away. He nearly took out a Third Year Ravenclaw in the process, but managed to right himself before crushing her…

"I have to go, we need medical supplies, textbooks… lots of things that even the room cannot provide given how hard it is working to keep us safe!" he retorted, looking to the imposing woman earnestly; she gave him a pat, "Now, now dear, we have –Arthur and I- at least looked into the food situation… All food must be conjured FROM somewhere, you cannot just make it from thin air… That's why I had a little chat with the House Elves while _Remus and Tonks were-…_ah… were '_discussing_' the finer points of NOT torturing House Elves with Yaxley and Crabbe Senior, and they have agreed to make –not just food, but a FEAST- in secret. If you wait a moment I am sure it will arrive, the no-apparition rule doesn't seem to apply to them for some reason. Must be a different type of magic…"

Only half-listening due to the growling of his stomach, all Neville processed was that there was some form of food on the way… which meant he didn't have to battle his way down to the Kitchens, and back again, hopefully laden with whatever could be found. That only left the Infirmary and potentially the Dark Arts or Potions rooms… The plan was formulating in his mind long before he even realised his tired body was lying down… how had that happened?

Mrs Weasley was fussing about him, and whoever the shape was beside him… Oh, Luna. She was half-asleep, blue eyes watching him as her hand reached out to touch his comfortingly, "Don't worry… we'll save them… Harry and the others are coming. I'm sure Draco is safe too… heh, his father was really angry when Draco told him he should stick his wand up his-…"

"_**SOUP IS HERE**_!" interjected Mrs Weasley loudly, throwing a look at the practically unconscious Luna who was mumbling incoherently about Snorkacks or something; the food looked delicious, but the pillow really was quite comfy… and maybe it would be alright _if_… if he just… _closed his eyes for a minute…_

Turning to look at the slumbering pair, Molly sighed in a saddened kind of relief, "Oh Arthur, look at them… they're only _children_… Ron's age, and they've taken so much responsibility on their shoulders. I doubt they've even eaten or slept since the battle started…" Her husband patted her arm kindly, "I know, dear… but these children are made of stern stuff, Dumbledore made sure of that."

Busying herself dishing out food to half-starving and weary students of all ages, Molly tried her best to block out the whimpering of the wounded… the tears and grief for those dead… the muttering of those trapped in necessary but fitful sleep… but she couldn't seem to blot out the fear that blossomed deep in her breast when Arthur whispered, "_I just hope Ron is alright… I don't think we can cope with losing another child…"_

With all her heart, she hoped the very same thing.

~)0(~

Hephestus Campers had gained permission to get out of 'Capture the Flag!' that evening, so as to go through the inventory of the armour and weapons to make certain everyone had everything they needed. A few issues had cropped up during the double-checking that left Charles Beckendorf and his siblings hammering out molten metals late into the night… The Ares Cabin had bent all their best war spears in the last tournament, and then reports came in that Artemis's Hunters all needed new armour for battle… not to mention the unfortunate hammering out of new swords for just about everyone who had been in on the 'nautical manoeuvres' challenge Chiron had set up last week… the majority of their weapons went down when the boats sank and Percy STILL hadn't found them all after combing the Lake a half-dozen times. And then there was the adorable little Snow, from the Aphrodite Cabin, who had asked specially if her armour could have a pink bunny on the front of it, with a bat of her eyelids and the best puppy pout this side of Aphrodite herself... Who was to say no?

Laying down his hammer for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow in the glow of the forge's embers, he looked to the others, to the molten sword half-hammered into shape in his gloved hand, and then on to the massive pile of finished weapons and armour, all tagged with the appropriate camper's names. So much was done, so much yet to do…

A shriek came from the woods…

…and yet, he thought as he again hefted the gigantic hammer, things could be much worse.

~)0(~

Speaking of people shrieking like a little girl…

The noise that came out of Percy's mouth was NOT human…not in the least, as Ron tackled him from behind. Which was a feat in itself, as he just so happened to be perched in a tree at the time… they fell with a splash into the small stream below. He saw the Red Flag, his own team's flag, was placed dead in the middle of the rushing current and remembered taking a moment to think how utterly sadistic Chiron was before Percy tossed a wave at him.

It broke on his shield, thank goodness, because he'd had more impromptu showers today than in an entire lifetime of living with the Twins… oh, damn it! He only just ducked as a sword swung out past his head, grazing along a cheek… thinking about poor George all alone right now was just too-… it physically hurt and distracted him once again as the pommel of the weapon hit the backs of his knees driving him into the water. There was an instant where he wondered what it would be like to drown, but then Draco was there…

"Get up you idiot, he's going to take our flag!" snarled the blonde, deliberately irritating to try and get a rise out of him; it worked…sort of… something inside Ron snapped. With a roar that would make any lion proud, he leapt up, smashed Percy's sword from his hand and kicked the poor unsuspecting Demi-God right in the chest-plate, then swung around in a fluid motion and punched Draco in the face. He went down like a pile of bricks.

Re-surfacing, blue eyes went wide in surprise, "Wha- What the-? You-…" words failed as Ron yelled over the top of him, "YOUR FATHER KILLED MY SISTER!" The accusation echoed around the woods, a certain son of Poseidon staying extra quiet as he listened from below the surface of the water, to avoid being hit again… and maybe stealing the flag while they were having an emotional moment up there. Ready to intervene if necessary…

Draco backpedalled, splashing the whole way, "I'm sorr-…"

"And your BLOODY MENTAL AUNT killed Fred, my BROTHER…" Ron continued, menacingly, towering over the blonde…. Percy was getting ready to intervene when… the redhead unexpectedly hit the water on his knees and offered a hand to Draco, "…so why can't I hate you?" he asked plaintively. Eyes expressive and open for the first time in ages, rage abated after that initial battle lust had surged through him with enough reinforced bravado to take on that girl with the giant spikey mace earlier… -For the record, _**not**_ the best idea.

Draco gaped a moment, "I-…uh… it's my natural charm, Weasley, you can't resist it… I'm sorry, I really am, but I'm not like them anymore, if that helps?" Ron clapped him on the shoulder, "Yeah… it does. Sorry for hitting you before…you see, uh, well… Clarisse said it's always better to go into battle without conflict in the ranks… so you can trust those at your back… and the best way is to just, hit someone, apparently. Basically what I'm saying - _you git_- is that I forgive you for having a crappy family of uptight blood-obsessed jerkwads, and that I trust you to have my back when we fight old _Noseless_… 'right?" he squirmed, clearly uncomfortable with trying to express an emotion… "So don't go and stick a wand in my back, now… got it?"

"_That's not what you said last night_…" muttered Draco, but answered, "I- I'll try not to, unless it looks decorative enough… Now I think we'd better get up before… oh forget it, HUG ME YOU SEXY GINGER!" Screamed the blonde in a way that made Ron jerk back… right into the giant wave Percy threw at them, "Before exactly _**THAT**_… heh, really, Draco? Making Ron your shield with such a dirty trick? Pfft, if only I could get Annabeth to fall for it… Oh, and just by the way, I'm stealing your flag… Ta-ta!"

And the Son of Poseidon went racing off with the flag, leaving the two Red Team guests to look to one another, then raise their swords in unison and charge off after him, war-cry echoing ridiculously in the twilight world…

~)0(~

The first time they told him, Harry fell off his chair laughing.

The second time they told the story, Hermione nearly choked to death on some evil mash potato… and Percy managed to over-embellish the story so it sounded like an over-done soap opera.

The third time he tried to tell it… Draco threw a pie at him.

Ron compromised, "How about another story then? And for the record, I never hugged him… I hit him, then we had an extremely awkward moment in the water… and then Percy tried to drown us both, but Draco tricked me into being his shield. End of that story." Laughter and cheers came from the Dining Hall of freshly-showered campers all ready for bed and the battle the morning would bring…

Surreptitiously, Draco had slid down the Poseidon bench to get slightly closer to Annabeth, who was tolerating his presence… the blonde was under no impression that he stood a chance of getting out of this alive if she disagreed to his advances… but he'd take the chance. As Ron launched into the story with an impressive sounding, "Well, because just attending Hogwarts isn't dangerous enough as it is, there's this thing called the _Triwizard Tournament_ where we invite the OTHER two magic schools to come and try to get one of their students killed… So, we'd just gotten off the train and piled into the carriages –_pulled by Thestrals you know_- and were on our way to the feast when we noticed-…"

Draco felt a hand crawl on top of his own, though Annabeth herself displayed no signs of noticing anything out of the usual, and he smiled… all night long. Even when Ron got to, and reiterated the _'Malfoy the Amazing Bouncing Ferret'_ part of the story… complete with song and dance, as performed by Harry, Ron and Hermione…

"…and that was how Harry nearly got me drowned, then kissed by a hot half-Veela and her sister, and I discovered Harry was really in love with me…" Ron stated like he was casually mentioning the scores of the most recent Quidditch Match. Harry sprayed ambrosia EVERYWHERE. "WHAT?" he cried in reciprocation, practically tackling the redhead from his seat… From the floor, Ron laughed up at him, "Well, I WAS your '_Thing you would most likely miss'_ wasn't I?"

Harry opened his mouth to retort…paused, thought better of it and closed it again. His gaze reflected a definite '_I'll get you later'_ expression as Ron continued, "Not to mention, the final challenge… ever heard of a Blast-Ended Skrewt? No? Well, if you thought your adorable little minotaur was difficult to manage…" Afterwards, many Campers could not look at Shellfish the same way again.

It was then and there Draco realised there was _no way on this earth_ he was telling those two that his animagus form actually _was_ a snow white ferret… he'd never hear the end of it! Vaguely, he wondered if Annabeth liked ferrets…

~)0(~

There is nothing on this planet like waking up to a giant spoon wedged in your mouth.

This was something Neville was highly aware of, given that there was one jammed right in there ludicrously laden with a delicious smelling and tasting something… "It's soup, dear, try to swallow it and I'll get you some more… Luna almost finished the entire bowlful by herself! Bless those little House Elves…" came the familiar voice of Mrs Weasley as said spoon was removed and jammed back in with more liquid.

There was a moment when he actively realised just how ridiculous this must look, being spoonfed by Mrs Weasley… at his age… while tucked up in a tiny bed he shared with the equally grimy, battered and exhausted Luna…

…Who was no longer there. He damn near inhaled the spoon as he launched upright, hand perceiving the cold indent where she had been when he'd fallen asleep…

"Don't worry dear, she just went off with Charlie, George and Bill to get ahold of some medical- GET BACK IN BED YOUNG MAN!" Neville paused half-in and half-out of the bed, afraid of what might happen if he didn't comply… but decided to say 'Firebolt you!' to the universe and take his fate into his own hands by making a mad dash from the bed to the door before anyone –namely Mrs Weasley- could stupefy him.

"Somebody stop him, he's got a nasty concussion!" cried Padma, who had apparently been playing nurse while reading from one of the oldest Medical Journals Neville had ever seen… a muggle book too, which meant it was probably wrong. "I'm fine!" he called back, ducking her Stunning Spell and dodging through the door… out into the corridor, and straight to Luna…

Uh, the INFIRMARY… yeah, straight to _the Infirmary_ …if Luna was there also, it would merely be a wonderful coincidence…

~)0(~

* * *

**_TBC..._**

* * *

**_And Next... Hogwarts under Siege._**

**Tell Me Honestly, do you like this story? I never recieve any Reviews from you lot, anymore...**

_It's hard to gauge if anyone's actually still reading, or I'm writing this for myself..._

**REVIEW... **if you are still reading**.**

**~*SailorSilvanesti/Phoenix Fire*~**


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